Volume 92, Issue 3 | September 21, 2011
the
Charger Bulletin The official student newspaper of the University of New Haven since 1938.
www.ChargerBulletin.com
Obama to Propose $1.5 Trillion In New Tax Revenue The administration also ASSOCIATED PRESS counts savings of $1 trillion over –––––––––––––––––––––––––– 10 years from the withdrawal of WASHINGTON (AP) — troops from Iraq and AfghaniPresident Barack Obama will stan. The deficit reduction plan reppropose $1.5 trillion in new resents an economic bookend to taxes as part of a plan to identify more than $3 trillion in long- the $447 billion in tax cuts and term deficit reduction and slow new public works spending that the nation’s escalating national debt. Obama’s tax plan is aimed predominantly at the wealthy and draws sharp contrasts with congressional Republicans. It comes just days after House Speaker John Boehner ruled out tax increases to lower deficits. It also comes amid a clamor in his own Democratic Party for Obama to take a tougher stance against Repub- Obama has proposed as a shortlicans. And while the plan stands term measure to stimulate the little chance of passing Con- economy and create jobs. He’s gress, its populist pitch is one submitting his deficit fighting that the White House believes plan to a special joint committee of Congress that is charged with the public can support. The core of the president’s recommending deficit reducplan totals just more than $2 tril- tions of up to $1.5 trillion over lion in deficit reduction over 10 10 years. In a defiant note, administrayears. It combines the new taxes with $580 billion in cuts to man- tion officials made clear Sundatory benefit programs, includ- day that Obama would veto any ing $248 billion from Medicare. Medicare benefit cuts that aren’t By JIM KUHNHENN
paired with tax increases on upper-income people. Officials cast Obama’s plan as his vision for deficit reduction, and distinguished it from the negotiations he had with Boehner in July as Obama sought to avoid a government default. As a result, it includes no
AP Photo
changes in Social Security and no increase in the Medicare eligibility age, which the president had been willing to accept this summer. Moreover, the new tax revenue Obama is seeking is nearly double the $800 billion that Boehner had been willing to consider in July. Republicans were already lining up against See OBAMA page 5
DON’T FORGET This newspaper is recyclable! 50 Alien Planets Found By VERONICA MACIEL
findings were presented to the public via a paper submitted to –––––––––––––––––––––––––– “Astronomy and Astrophysics,” and were then explained in comWhat will happen when Earth plete detail at the Extreme Solar is gone? Everyone at one point System conference in Moran, in their lives has asked them- Wyoming which started on Sepselves this question. Well, some tember 11 and ran until Septempeople have been searching for ber 17. the answer to that question for a Their results were astronomiSTAFF WRITER
majority of their lives as well. In La Silla, Chille at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) a team of scientists have been using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARP), which is an instrument that searches for spectral signs to show a star is wobbling due a gravitational pull, to search for planets. According to MSNBC, these
AP Photo
cal! They discovered 50 new alien planets, 16 of which are super Earths. Super-Earths are planets that have masses greater than Earth’s, but are smaller than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. One of the super-Earths even has a possibility of having water on its surface. In their research, scientists find out about a planet See PLANETS page 7
As Families Urge Action, U.S. Drafts Alzheimer’s Plan
By SARA J. DUFORT STAFF WRITER
–––––––––––––––––––––––––– Alzheimer’s is a debilitating disease that currently affects an estimated 5.4 million Americans. While it is the sixth-leading killer, there is no cure and the treatments only temporarily ease the symptoms. If not addressed properly, the disease will become a problem not only for systems like Medicare and Medicaid, but also for the fam-
ily members who become caregivers. This is why the Obama Administration is developing the first Alzheimer’s Plan. The plan will combine research intended to fight the disease with the help that caregivers desperately need. The disease is not only a problem now, but could become much worse as the baby-boomer generation begins to age. According to current projections, an estimated 13 to 16 million Americans could have Alzheimer’s by the year 2050, costing an astounding one trillion dollars in
medical and nursing home expenditures. In addition to expenses paid by insurance companies, a recent report found that an estimated 15 million people, mostly family members, are providing more than $200 billion dollars worth of unpaid care. With statistics like this, it is no surprise that family members are reaching out and asking the government to step in. Since August alone, thousands of family members have turned out at public meet-
AP PHOTO
ings, pleading for change. What they want is simple – more training for doctors and resources. Of the estimated 36 million people who have Alzheimer’s in the world, 75 percent have not been diagnosed. Dr. Daisy Acosta, chair of Alzheimer’s disease International said that, “Failure to diagnose Alzheimer’s in a timely manner represents a tragic missed opportunity to improve the quality of life for millions of people.” This
See ALZHEIMER’S page 6
Text message your news tips and comments to The Charger Bulletin! 1 (270) UNH-NEWS
Invasive Sea Squirt Threatens Connecticut’s $30 Million Shellfish Industry
Connecticut’s shellfish industry provides 300 jobs statewide, –––––––––––––––––––––––––– generates $30 million in sales and has 70,000 acres of shellfish WEST HAVEN, CONN -- farms in the state, according to The invasive sea squirt, Styela the Connecticut Department of clava, has now been discovered Agriculture. along the Eastern Seaboard as The state, world famous for its far south as Bridgeport Harbor oyster industry in the 1800s, has and poses a significant danger to Connecticut’s $30 million shellfish business, according to field research conducted by Carmela Cuomo, head of the marine biology program at the University of New Haven, and several of her students. The migration of the non-native pest, sometimes called an Asian clubbed tunicate, southward from Canada and northern New England threatens farming of bivalves such as clams, mussels, scallops and oysters in Long Island Sound. been working since the 1960s Styela clava’s efficient feeding, to rebuild its shellfish beds and rapid reproduction and tendency clean up the pollution that led to form large colonies enable to the industry’s demise. Conthem to crowd out other species. necticut shellfish beds produce By KAREN GRAVA UNH TODAY
oysters, mussels and scallops as well as Quahog, steamer, razor and other clams. “The spread of this particular species of sea squirt westward in Long Island Sound, along with laboratory studies of its temperature tolerance, indicates it can survive at higher water tem-
a Noel Sardalla PHOTO
peratures than scientists had previously believed,” Cuomo said. “If further testing confirms that Styela can reproduce in warmer See SEA SQUIRT page 7