MOScout Daily Update: Eslinger Adds $150K - Launchcode in NYT - Koch Bros Contra Long and more...

Eslinger Adds $150K to Campaign

Rep. Karla Eslinger added $150,000 to her Senate campaign committee.  She’s running in Senate 33 in a three-way Republican primary to replace termed Sen. Mike Cunningham.

This infusion levels the early money race between the candidates.

·         Rep. Robert Ross had $127K cash on-hand in his campaign account on his October report.

·         Former Rep. Van Kelly had $87K cash on-hand.  He had put $100K into his campaign earlier.

This primary is heating up.  Eslinger will likely have the backing of the education establishment, while Ross’s IE PAC has received a contribution from CL PAC as appears to have the support of the Conservative Caucus.

Meanwhile

In Senate 5, Michelle Sherod unveils her campaign website.  See it here.

NYTimes on White Collar Apprenticeships

Launchcode is featured in this New York Times article about the changing job market.  See it here.

The offer of a new life arrived in the mail for the son of a laid-off steelworker: a scholarship to St. Louis University, where he dreamed of studying computer science.

But Tyler Holdener’s excitement quickly curdled into anxiety after he realized he would have to borrow nearly $14,000 a year, even with the school’s aid package.

He decided not to go to college. Instead, he is becoming a software application engineer through LaunchCode, a St. Louis-based nonprofit that taught him to code and placed him in an apprenticeship at Centene, a health care company.

FYI

Launchcode is represented by Catalyst.

Cracking the Rural Healthcare Code

Interesting press release from NextGen Healthcare, Inc. “a leading provider of ambulatory-focused technology solutions” earlier this week announcing that “members of CHC Strategies, Inc. are delivering cutting edge medical care to more than 53 counties and nearly 107,000 patients (roughly 18% of all patients served by Missouri’s community health centers) using NextGen Population Health™…. Formed in 2017, CHC Strategies is a clinically-integrated network of three independent Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) serving the most rural towns in Missouri… By pooling resources including staff, hardware and data, CHC Strategies serves as a hub that enables its member CHCs to assume upside and downside risk with multiple payers within Medicaid. Each CHC has its own NextGen Population Health instance which runs on its own database. CHC Strategies has enhanced database access to aggregate the data from all three CHCs and create a more holistic picture of the larger rural population’s health, costs and outcomes.”

I’m told that this group has demonstrated “some of this population health functionality for Director Todd Richardson in the recent months and have been working closely with MCO leadership toward value-based payment models as MoHealthNet continues the push to innovate and transform.”

Schmitt Sues Marshfield

Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the City of Marshfield, located in southwest Missouri for forcing a ticket quota system on his officers.  See the suit here.

Press release: The lawsuit, which was filed earlier today, alleges on information and belief that Chief of Police Doug Fannen, on behalf of the City of Marshfield, gave department employees instruction to write sixteen citations per month and informed those officers that their performance evaluations would reflect whether the officer has issued those sixteen citations…

Additionally, the lawsuit also includes minutes from Board of Aldermen meetings showing the City of Marshfield’s decision to hire a “traffic enforcement officer” within the Marshfield police department. This position would be paid by revenue generated from traffic tickets, and the traffic enforcement officer would be required to write at least nine citations per shift, or 144 citations per month.

Marshfield is represented by Sen. Mike Cunningham, and Rep. John Black.

Vaping Tax

Kaiser Health News reports on efforts to tax vaping around the county.  See it here.

Vermont recently passed a 92% wholesale tax on vaping and e-cigarette products... Historically, taxation has been an effective tool in reducing the number of people who smoke.

The World Health Organization estimates that a 10% rise in prices causes overall smoking rates to drop about 4% in high-income countries. Some states are relying on this strategy to work again ― this time to discourage consumers, especially teenagers and young adults, from using e-cigarettes and vaping products.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have passed those taxes, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit advocacy group. But whether taxes would be as effective in combating vaping as they have been with smoking is unknown, state officials and researchers say….

FYI

I haven’t seen any pre-filed bills or any serious talk from Jefferson City of a vaping-specific tax.

Koch Bros Contra Long

News-Leader reports that “in an ad campaign announced last week, Americans for Prosperity attacks U.S. Rep. Billy Long and 14 other representatives for voting to extend the charter of the Export-Import Bank last month.”  See it here.

A direct mail ad provided to the News-Leader echoed familiar arguments, saying the bank “unfairly extends taxpayer-backed-handouts (sic)” to foreign companies like Air China and Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, and that Long voted for a “boondoggle.”

A news release Friday added claims that the bank has fallen short of its goals for creating jobs and promoting exports and been a target from dozens of fraud allegations…

“Members of Congress who voted to allow the Export-Import Bank to continue to perpetuate fraud at the expense of Missouri taxpayers should be held accountable.”

Jeremy Cady, State director for Americans for Prosperity-Missouri

Koch Industries’ political action committee has donated $46,000 to Long’s personal campaign committee and political action committee since 2010, according to federal data…

Other members of Congress targeted by the advertising include Missouri Reps. Ann Wagner, Sam Graves and Blaine Luetkemeyer, all Republicans…

Finally

Governor Mike Parson is schedule to attend the grand opening of the new St. Louis Aquarium this evening.

eMailbag on Yesterday’s Headlines

·         You know how many Greek and Roman representations we have in DC alone, not to mention state capitals!!  It’s what they represent (bravery, courage, honor, etc.), not who they are. 

·         Doesn’t Mike Moon know not to send that kind of wedge issue letter during an upcoming election year. Now the Governor will have to choose between Jesus Christ and the Farm Bureau (Goddess of Ag).

·         A walk-in beer cave in Van Buren sounds like one helluva community improvement.

Lobbyists Registrations

Gamble & Schlemeier added Sportradar Solutions LLC.

David Huff added Strategic Compliance Solutions, LLC.

John Fairfield terminated his registration. He had represented KC For High Speed Rail LLC aka KC4HSR.

Adam Peshek terminated his registration.  He had represented Excellence in Education National, Inc., d/b/a Excellence in Education in Action.

$5K+ Contributions

UAW Region 5 Midwest States Political Action Committee (PAC) (MO) - $6,000 from UAW Region 5 Exchange Account.

Missourians for Healthcare - $23,171 from The Fairness Project.

Missouri Patient Advocacy Council PAC - $10,000 from Jefferson City Medical Group, PC.

International Union of Painters & Allied Trades PAT Federal PAC             - $30,000 from IUPAT Political Action Together Political Committee.

KarlaEslingerForSenate.com - $150,000 from Karla Eslinger.