Thursday, August 31, 2017

Arkema CEO: "No Way To Prevent Imminent Explosion" At Texas Chemical Plant

Arkema CEO: "No Way To Prevent Imminent Explosion" At Texas Chemical Plant

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New Texas law means Harvey victims have good reason to file claims by Friday

New Texas law means Harvey victims have good reason to file claims by Friday

A new law, set to take effect Friday, aims to crack down on frivolous insurance lawsuits. But House Bill 1774 also reduces the penalty fees that insurance companies face for late payments if the policyholder files a lawsuit.

*Clarification appended
Editor's note: For more information on how to file a Harvey-related insurance claim, read our interview with Texas Department of Insurance Deputy Commissioner Stephanie Goodman.


For many Texans ravaged by the rain and winds Hurricane Harvey carried ashore this past weekend, filing an insurance claim for the damage their property sustained is probably the farthest thing from their minds right now. But waiting to submit a claim past Friday could cost them big.

A new law set to take effect Friday aims to crack down on frivolous insurance lawsuits. But House Bill 1774 also reduces the penalty interest rate insurance companies face for late payments if the policyholder files a lawsuit.

If insurance companies are late in paying claims as a result of a lawsuit, they must pay an additional penalty to policyholders. Under current state law, that penalty comes in the form of a fee that totals 18 percent of the claim. For claims filed after Friday, that rate will be determined by a market-based formula that is capped at 20 percent. Currently, the rate would be 10 percent.

While people filing claims by Friday would benefit from the higher penalty payouts in lawsuits, those same cases would be subject to provisions in the new law. Those provisions would decrease the chances insurance companies will have to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys fees in full and protect agents from being personally sued.

Jeff Raizner, a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, which opposed HB 1774, said the law is a mixed bag.

“I want to be completely fair, there were some bad actors,” said Raizner, a Houston trial lawyer who has worked on insurance cases for 25 years. He added that some of what the new law requires addresses that problem – like the strengthened rules on communications regarding claims issues and the structure for paying attorneys' fees.

But he calls the penalty changes an overreach.

“Much of this new law is a money grab by the insurance industry,” 

FBI Fear Awan Case Was Cleverly Rigged To Protect Obama, Lynch, Holder, Wasserman, Congressional Dems

FBI Fear Awan Case Was Cleverly Rigged To Protect Obama, Lynch, Holder, Wasserman, Congressional Dems


The fix was in to protect Justice Department officials as high up as the US Attorney General even before the Awan investigation started, FBI veterans with knowledge of the case now fear.

And so far President Barack Obama, who appointed the US Attorney in the District of Columbia who is slow walking the case, has proven insulated too from an investigation now on the fringes of exposing espionage and blackmail of Democratic members of Congress.

The US Attorney in DC is Channing Phillips, who worked for Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder in key roles during their tenures as US Attorney General. Phillips was appointed by Obama shortly before the Awan grand jury convened. The confirmation of Phillips’ replacement nominated by President Donald Trump has been stalled by Sen. Chuck Schumer for eight months.
The explosive Awan case could also possibly implicate Obama as well as former attorneys general Holder and Lynch. Those tenets have not been lost on veteran federal agents with knowledge of the evidence unfolding in this complicated case against a family of alleged Pakistani IT gurus linked to dozens of Congressional Democrats, including Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

“He (Phillips) could be protecting Holder, Lynch and Obama depending how deep this mess is,” a FBI insider said. “He may have been appointed for the sole purpose of quashing this case.”

FBI agents feel they have amassed crucial evidence to expand the Awan case into a wider investigation of possible espionage and blackmail but the Bureau is getting push back from the US Attorney’s Office in D.C., federal sources confirmed.

President Trump has nominated Jesse Liu as the new US Attorney to replace Phillips, the Obama holdover. However, Schumer and senate Democrats have stalled Liu’s confirmation. This has provided Schumer de facto control of the Awan investigation which otherwise could implicate dozens of his fellow Congressional Democrats. Wasserman hired the Awans as IT specialists and shared the four Awans with other Democrats for classified computer work.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Can Massachusetts taxpayer money subsidize historic church renovations? SJC will decide

Can Massachusetts taxpayer money subsidize historic church renovations? SJC will decide

Special election to fill Flanagan's seat set


Special election to fill Flanagan's seat set

By Michael P. Norton, State House News Service
Updated:   08/29/2017 09:25:06 AM EDT


BOSTON -- The special election to fill the Senate seat that will be given up later this week by Sen. Jennifer Flanagan so she can serve as the governor's appointee on the Cannabis Control Commission will be held Dec. 5.

The Senate on Monday set the special election date with the preliminary election being held Nov. 7, the date of this year's municipal elections in Fitchburg, Gardner and Leominster, according to Secretary of State William Galvin, the state's top elections official.

The Worcester and Middlesex District includes the cities of Fitchburg, Gardner and Leominster, and the towns of Berlin, Bolton, Lancaster, Lunenberg, Sterling, Westminster, Townsend and two of Clinton's four precincts.

The still-developing field of those seeking the seat so far includes Democrats Michael Kushmerek of Fitchburg and Michael Mahan of Leominster, as well as Fitchburg Republican Lou Marino.

Kushmerek is the Fitchburg City Council president and represents Ward 4. He also is the director of annual giving at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and held a similar position a Fitchburg State University after earning two degrees in history.
 Kushmerek is allowed to continue his candidacy to retain his Ward 4 seat on the City Council while seeking the Senate seat.

Mahan, who also announced his intention to run for the seat last week, works as the director of client services for a Marlboro shipping and logistics software developer Pierbridge Inc.
 He also serves as Fitchburg State University board of trustees clerk and a member of the HealthAlliance Hospital board of trustees, and has served on the Democratic State Committee.

Mahan earned an MBA from Boston College and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from WPI.

Marino is originally from West Springfield and most recently lived in Chelmsford, where he served as Town Meeting representative for Precinct 5 and unsuccessfully ran for Chelmsford Board of Selectmen in 2015.

According to his LinkedIn page, Marino earned an associate degree from Springfield Technical Community College, and a bachelor's and master's degree from West New England University. On his LinkedIn page, Marino also lists himself at the owner of Black Onyx Recoveries, which offers services like judgment recovery, debt collection and employment screenings, according to the Black Onyx Facebook page. 
To appear on the ballot, candidates must gather 300 certified signatures, which are due with local registrars of voters by Sept. 26, according to Galvin.

Despite the urging of her supporters, Leominster state Rep. Natalie Higgins, a former intern for Flanagan, said Monday that she will not be attempting a run for the Senate.

"It would not be fair to the people of Leominster for me to run for Senate at this time," she said. "I am just getting started here in Leominster and transitioning to a district of ten-and-a-half cities and towns would mean I would have to divert my focus from Leominster before finishing what I have started."

Higgins was elected in November 2016, succeeding former state representative Dennis Rosa.

Katie Lannan of the State House News Service and Cliff Clark of the Sentinel & Enterprise contributed to this report.


FBI Denies FOIA Request For Hillary Documents Due To "Lack Of Public Interest"

FBI Denies FOIA Request For Hillary Documents Due To "Lack Of Public Interest"

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Tuesday, August 29, 2017

A First: Drug Lowers Heart Risks by Curbing Inflammation

A First: Drug Lowers Heart Risks by Curbing Inflammation

For the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart attacks by curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than lowering cholesterol.

Many heart attacks occur in people who have normal cholesterol but high inflammation, which can lead to clogged arteries. A study tested the Novartis drug canakinumab (can-uh-KIN-yoo-mab) in heart attack survivors at risk of another one because of high inflammation.

A middle dose, given as a shot every three months, cut the risk of a repeat heart attack, a stroke or a heart-related death by 15 percent over four years.

FILE - This Oct. 25, 2011 file photo shows the logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG on one of their buildings in Basel, Switzerland. According to results published Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, for the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart attacks by curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than lowering cholesterol, which has been the main focus for decades. Canakinumab's maker, Novartis, sponsored the study. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - This Oct. 25, 2011 file photo shows the logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG on one of their buildings in Basel, Switzerland. According to results published Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, for the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart attacks by curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than lowering cholesterol, which has been the main focus for decades. Canakinumab's maker, Novartis, sponsored the study. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP, File)

Results were published Sunday by the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet, and presented at a heart conference in Barcelona, Spain.

 

Journalist Interrogated, Fired For Story Linking CIA And Syria Weapons Flights

Journalist Interrogated, Fired For Story Linking CIA And Syria Weapons Flights



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Congress Quietly Passed A Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes - Only 1% Opposed It

Congress Quietly Passed A Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes - Only 1% Opposed It

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Monday, August 28, 2017

From the Town Administrator's Report

From the Town Administrator's Report
August 24, 2017

4. d. Should any final draft presented to you gain your approval, or failing that should you decide to continue negotiations, we will also need to discuss the schedule for Town Hall and any changes to your meeting schedule. This will also impact potential revisions to the Countdown to the FY’19 Budget & Legislative Package. 

You asked me to consider accelerating the presentation of the FY ’19 revenues (which I can move to your workshop of 10/02 if I am not trying to also present the five-year financial forecasts envisioned in the Draft financial policies). You have also asked me to consider accelerating the review process. I am not at all convinced we can do this by having all departments present and defend on the first workshop of 03/02. 

First this would be a substantial amount of material for you to have to review in the week between the 02/26 presentation and this workshop. Secondly, I do not believe you could get through all of the departments in the one evening. Therefore, I am going to suggest that we look at adding some meetings in March such that we can target 03/26 as Adoption. 

 
Weekly Report: 

We have some potential upcoming work-flow issues on the administrative side of Sewer between illness in the full-time position and a vacancy in the part-time position. I contributed to the several redrafts of the IMA/TA work and participated in the joint subcommittee meeting. 

The Forester has been working on the Dump site marking and measuring trees. He
advises that the area that is harvestable is considerably smaller than we initially thought because of several streams and wetland areas that are inoperable and an area that contained smaller trees. However, he believe the site would generate $7k to $10k. Once this site is out to contract he will proceed with the Highway site. {FY 18 counted $10,000 as annual revenue from this source}

I’ve come to learn that we are not requiring insurance certificates for the use of our various facilities by others (Gilman Waite, Town Common). This is exposing you to great liability risk. I will prepare a full memo for your consideration and schedule it for the first possible workshop inviting the various units involved.{ Thought this was why we had insurance as a town}

I’ve been doing follow-up on the Barre Road property being developed by the Corporation for Independent Living (CLI) in an effort to answer resident questions. I have not connected with CLI yet but will keep you posted.{ Templeton's bylaw on group homes /treatment centers which may house registered sex offenders was repeaeld}

I met with Mike Pingpank from COG to discuss the upcoming CDBG grant round and who potential partners might be. We also discussed and he will provide a firm proposal to retain them to review subordination requests over the next few years (as opposed to us bring it in house). { Thought Templeton was ineligible for applying for Federal grants due to lack of consistent audits?}

Finally, I spent time with Alan M. and Bob from Highway trying to sort out a cost effective way to have a fleet ready to take on the winter season given deterioration of the vehicles and sanders beyond what we had anticipated and planned for.{Exactly which highway sanders and vehicles were planned to be replaced? With what money?}



Public Works
Highway Department: Two new employees were added to the Highway division payroll to replace two that left earlier in the year. They began getting their feet wet in assisting in cleaning up the trees that were taken down on N. Main Street and Baldwinville Road. Trees were also removed in Templeton Center. 

Before removal the trees were evaluated by an Arborist and found to be diseased and hollow on the inside, therefore a hazard to residents. A tree hearing was posted and held on the 14th, there was no opposition to the removal of these trees. The new guys also lent a hand in erecting the new Heart Safe signs for the Fire department throughout town. Some hole patching was done and road side trimming. 

The Director and Administrative assistant attended the quarterly DPW info share meeting held in Winchendon. These meeting are held every 3 months as a way to share ideas with local facilities. Many new ideas were on the table for discussion and we saw a few new faces. The next meeting will be in November and the location is still undisclosed.

Meetings the Week of August 28, 2017

-->
Meetings the Week of August 28, 2017


Monday  8/28/17
Clown College         PCS Town Hall*        6:30 pm

 
* Pauly Cosentino Sr. Town Hall


Court Confirms DNC And Wasserman Schultz Showed "Palpable Bias" Against Bernie Sanders

Court Confirms DNC And Wasserman Schultz Showed "Palpable Bias" Against Bernie Sanders

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Free Speech, Say What?

Free Speech, Say What?


Regarding the third OML complaint filed by the Templeton Board of Selectmen against the Templeton Advisory Committee:

From the August 24, 2017 TA report:

The following is intended to provide information where a full memo may not have been
warranted or supplement the provided information.

Business Meeting or Workshop: 

4. c. The response takes refuge in a defense on the basis of free speech rights and does not acknowledge the issue of a majority of the board viewing or commenting upon matters over which they have domain. That said, it seems the best approach would be a continuation of that expressed by the Board at its last meeting. 

What a concept! When Templeton's "select" few try to stomp on Adv. committee's right to free speech, the Adv. Committee would take "refuge " in the right to free speech. Gotta love it!

Original Complaint:



 Advisory Committee response:

Friday, August 25, 2017

EXCLUSIVE: Wasserman Schultz’ ‘Islamophobia’ Claim Prompts Angered Marine To Go Public On Awans

EXCLUSIVE: Wasserman Schultz’ ‘Islamophobia’ Claim Prompts Angered Marine To Go Public On Awans


A Marine who provided key evidence in the FBI case against Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s former IT employee said he is appalled by her claim that Islamophobia led U.S. Capitol Police to frame the former staffer.

Also Wednesday, two of Imran Awan’s relatives went on the record to say they think he would do anything for money.

Andre Taggart alerted the FBI to damaged harddrives and a cache of electronics tied to Imran Awan, a former IT specialist for dozens of House Democrats. Awan is the central figure in a criminal investigation of suspected procurement fraud and violations of the congressional IT network, including diverting data to an off-site server.

Taggart told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group Wednesday that “it was amazing” that Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, describes Imran as a victim of religious discrimination by law enforcement. Taggart rented the Northern Virginia home of Awan, who had frantically moved out after learning authorities were onto him.

“It pisses me off,” said Taggart, a black Marine who says he votes Democrat. He believes Wasserman Schultz is crying wolf and devaluing the meaning of genuine discrimination, while also exposing herself and the nation to risks.

Wasserman Schultz claimed Imran Awan is being “persecuted” by the Capitol Police and FBI after she was told that he is suspected of “data transfer violations,” even as she lamented the seriousness of the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Wasserman Schultz was chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee when its IT network was hacked in 2016.

“I just want to get these [guys] locked up and exposed and now,” Taggart told TheDCNF. “The people who facilitated them should also be locked up, as far as I’m concerned.”

TheDCNF cited Taggart without naming him in a July report that the FBI had seized the hard drives and electronics. Imran attempted the next day to board a flight to Pakistan, but was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport.

US Taxpayers Spent $50 Million For Luxury Cars, Guns, & Booze To Mentor Afghan Intel Officers

US Taxpayers Spent $50 Million For Luxury Cars, Guns, & Booze To Mentor Afghan Intel Officers

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When in Doubt, Get It Out





Arthritis

Current evidence strongly indicates that some people diagnosed with “arthritis” are in fact suffering from low-grade fluoride poisoning.

Joint pain and stiffness are well known symptoms of excessive fluoride intake. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, too much fluoride causes “chronic joint pain” and “arthritic symptoms.” (DHHS 1991). U.S. health authorities have long dismissed the relevance of this by insisting that fluoride only causes arthritic symptoms in patients with advanced forms of skeletal fluorosis, a bone disease caused by fluoride. Modern research clearly shows, however, that fluoride-induced joint pains can occur in the absence of obvious skeletal fluorosis. This makes fluoride’s effects on joints extremely difficult to differentiate from common forms of arthritis. In fact, research has found that fluoride can be a direct cause of osteoarthritis, with or without the presence of classic skeletal fluorosis. (Bao 2003; Savas 2001; Tartatovskaya 1995; Czerwinski 1988; Chen 1988).

In cases where fluoride is the cause of a person’s arthritic problems, reduction in daily fluoride intake for a period of several weeks or months can eliminate the symptoms in the absence of medical treatment. Correct diagnosis is thus critical to effective recovery.

Fluoride causes arthritis in absence of obvious skeletal fluorosis

Chronic fluoride exposure can cause a bone disease known as skeletal fluorosis. In the classic type of skeletal fluorosis, the lower spine and pelvis area develop a hyper-dense bone condition known as osteosclerosis. U.S. health authorities have long claimed that spinal osteosclerosis will be evident on x-ray if a person’s joint pains are caused by fluoride. When spinal osteosclerosis is absent, therefore, doctors have traditionally  dismissed the possibility that a patient’s joint pain could be caused by fluoride.

Research, however, has now repeatedly shown that fluoride can cause joint pain and stiffness, including clinical osteoarthritis, before bone changes in the spine are detectable on x-ray. This means that the traditional criteria for diagnosing skeletal fluorosis results in people with fluoride-induced joint problems being misdiagnosed as suffering from “arthritis.” The extent of this misdiagnosis remains unknown.

The doses that cause fluoride-arthritis remain poorly understood

According to U.S. health authorities, a daily dose of 10 mg of fluoride for over 10 years is sufficient to cause “crippling skeletal fluorosis.” (NRC 1993). Since crippling skeletal fluorosis represents the most severe stage of the disease (a stage where bone changes are readily detectable in the spine), common sense alone should indicate that earlier stages of fluorosis can be produced by doses lower than 10 mg/day. No systematic research, however, has been conducted in the United States or any other fluoridating country to determine how low the arthritic dose might be, and how this dose varies based on an individual’s age, nutritional status, health status, and exposure to repetititve stress.

Current data indicates that doses as low as 6 mg/day can cause arthritic symptoms

Although there has been a lack of systematic research (in western countries), a case study published in The Lancet found that daily doses of 6 to 9 mg per day were sufficient to cause arthritis in an avid tea-drinker. (Cook 1971). The subject of the study, an English woman with a 25-year history of debilitating arthritis, experienced complete relief in her symptoms within 6 months of stopping her tea consumption. In light of the woman’s recovery, the author concluded that “some cases of pain diagnosed as rheumatism or arthritis may be due to subclinical fluorosis which is not radiologically demonstrable.”

More recent (and more comprehensive) research from China confirms that doses lower than 10 mg/day can cause early stages of fluorosis as well as osteoarthritis. In 2000, a group of Chinese health agencies conducted a large-scale study to determine the daily doses of fluoride that cause the various phases of fluorosis. (Experts Group 2000). They found that doses of just 6.2 to 6.6 mg/day consistently produced x-ray evidence of skeletal fluorosis. It stands to reason, therefore, that doses less than 6 mg/day may cause arthritic symptoms, as fluoride can cause chronic joint pain prior to the development of x-ray changes.

Another large-scale study from China recently investigated whether the incidence of osteoarthritic symptoms rates in a population are increased in areas with elevated fluoride levels. (Ge 2006). After examining over 7,000 individuals from six regions, the authors found that the rate of osteoarthritis was significantly increased at water fluoride levels of just 1.7 ppm — a concentration that would be associated with daily doses in the 5 to 6 mg/day range. (Ge 2006) The following figure displays the rate of pain and rigidity in the knee and vertebrae that the study found:


Kinder Morgan paying Massachusetts State Police hundreds of thousands to quell Berkshire pipeline protests

Kinder Morgan paying Massachusetts State Police hundreds of thousands to quell Berkshire pipeline protests
Texas-based energy transfer pipeline giant Kinder Morgan is paying Massachusetts State Police thousands to quell protests at a Western Massachusetts project site, where troopers have arrested dozens so far.   

Financial records obtained by customer funded journalist network Muckrock reveal the Houston, Texas-based company had, as of June 3, paid state police $115,949.33.

The payments cover "authority" and "security" services related to the company's ongoing work in Otis State Forest, according to an invoice.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio on Wednesday explained the relationship in response to a MassLive inquiry.

"Security details or overtime assignments for event or venue security are routine -- we do them for Patriots games, for the Marathon, for concerts, for the July 4th fireworks event on the Esplanade in Boston, for the Head of the Charles Regatta, to name a few," he said.

Citing the state police mission in the forest, Procopio added, "The State Police mission at the pipeline extension project is to ensure the safety of all involved parties, including the project team, local residents, and demonstrators. We seek to ensure that the rights of all parties are protected, including the rights of the contractors to complete this legally-authorized project, the rights of nearby residents to safety and privacy, and the Constitutionally-protected rights of demonstrators to have a safe environment to lawfully assemble, speak and protest."

Massachusetts State Police Troop B has maintained a regular presence in the forest since May. Services to Kinder Morgan involve the arrest and removal of dozens of protesters, who have congregated in the forest in opposition to this project specifically and new fossil fuel infrastructure generally.

The Sugar Shack Alliance, an organizing coalition founded in 2016 to resist Kinder Morgan's plans, addressed the police agency's financial relationship with Kinder Morgan in a Facebook post Wednesday.

"All interactions with the Massachusetts State Police and the Sugar Shack Alliance have been amicable and respectful on both sides. But we must always keep in mind just who is paying for this party," the post read

In a second post, the group added, "It looks an awful lot like the state police are protecting Kinder Morgan, not the public, by arresting us for criminal charges that never stick. And yet we persist."
Arrested persons total more than 60 so far, including 98-year-old Northampton activist Frances Crowe.

Here's How The Next Recession Begins

Here's How The Next Recession Begins

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Incoming MBTA GM's Former Company May Face Bankruptcy

The Incoming MBTA GM's Former Company May Face Bankruptcy


Global Power Equipment Group, the corporation run previously by incoming MBTA General Manager Luis Ramirez, has had to sell off assets, lay off employees, and risks declaring bankruptcy as a result of erroneous financial statements it filed with federal regulators while Ramirez was CEO.

A WBUR analysis of Global Power Equipment’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that the company suffers from what it calls “severely constrained liquidity” as a consequence of having to correct four years worth of error-riddled financial reports to the SEC.

In March, the company reported that without a new infusion of credit, Global Power may not have the cash to fund daily business operations.

Global Power has yet to file its 2016 annual financial statement or its first two quarterly reports for 2017.

The MBTA celebrated Ramirez’s experience as a private sector turnaround specialist when it announced his appointment to general manager last week. State Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack pointed to Ramirez’s turnaround skills in a new statement issued to WBUR.

“I selected Luis Ramirez based on his long and successful career of transforming and turning around complex organizations, including several divisions of General Electric,” she said. “Luis is the right person at the right time to move the MBTA further down the path to being one of the best transit systems in the country.”
“We believe his body of work is exactly what the T needs."
Gov. Charlie Baker
The statement included a note that Pollack led the general manager search, and “per statute is responsible for appointing the GM/CEO.” The MBTA did not respond to multiple requests to speak with Ramirez himself.

Gov. Charlie Baker also weighed in Tuesday. “We believe his body of work is exactly what the T needs,” Baker said of Ramirez. “I have no doubt that when we have this conversation a year from now, most other people will agree with me.”

Ramirez’s LinkedIn page highlights his tenure as CEO at Global Power, and his leadership turning around at least two business units at GE: the corporation’s Energy Rentals division from 2002-2004, and GE Energy Industrial Solutions from 2009-2012.

GE is currently selling the Industrial Solutions unit, one of the company’s smallest, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“I keep hearing myself described as a turnaround guy,” Ramirez said in Boston last week. “And it’s true I have been charged with improving and transforming very complicated operations.”

A detailed analysis of SEC filings tells a different story, at least at Global Power Equipment Group.

'We May Not Generate Sufficient Cash Resources To Continue'

Ramirez served as CEO of the Dallas-based energy industry manufacturer from July 2012 to March 2015.

The company discovered major accounting errors in the firm’s financial statements during a first quarter 2015 internal review. Ramirez resigned on March 20, 2015.

In May 2015, Global Power Equipment notified the SEC that it would have to correct the errors and refile its 10-K form, the annual report all publicly traded companies must file with the federal government.

A spokeswoman for the company said Ramirez's departure was not related to the restatements, but did not comment further on the circumstances of his resignation.

The company was forced to restate reports for 2011, and 2012-2014 -- the three-year period Ramirez served as CEO. That triggered a cascade of consequences for the firm, including a shareholder lawsuit and an SEC investigation. The company’s stock price has also fallen dramatically, down 75 percent from its value near the end of Ramirez’s tenure.

A T spokesman previously told WBUR that the GM search committee was "well aware" of the shareholder lawsuit.

But the financial restatements also triggered an even bigger problem. “We may not generate sufficient cash resources to continue funding our operations,” the firm’s restated March 2017 10-K declares.

Global Power had two principal sources of money for day-to-day business: cash from daily operations, and a “revolving credit facility” — a line of credit companies commonly use to fund known and fixed daily operating costs such as payroll.

Such a credit line is not unusual for an equipment and manufacturing company, according to Andrew Vollmer, a federal securities law expert at the University of Virginia.

“Some companies need revolving credit to smooth out the mismatch between the time cash comes in and the time cash must be paid out," Vollmer said.

Global Power lost access to that critical credit line in May 2015, immediately after the company announced that its former financial statements could “no longer be relied upon.” With that admission, the company was no longer in compliance with the terms of its loan from Wells Fargo Bank, its former creditor. The bank also took control of some of Global Power’s accounts.

Unable to access credit for daily operations, “we have ... funded our operations from our net cash flows from operating activities,” Global Power wrote in a 2017 report. “That is not sustainable," the company said.

A Plan To Keep The Company Running