FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Homeowners Association and Property Management Company in Fair Housing Lawsuit Involving Occupancy Limits
The Justice Department announced today that the Townhomes of Kings Lake HOA Inc. (HOA) and Vanguard Management Group Inc. have agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The lawsuit alleged that the HOA adopted and both defendants enforced occupancy limits that discriminated against families with children at the Townhomes of Kings Lake, a 249-townhome community in Gibsonton, Fla.
Under the proposed consent decree, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the defendants will pay $45,000 to the family that initiated the original complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), $85,000 into a victim fund to compensate other aggrieved families, and $20,000 to the United States as a civil penalty. In addition, the proposed consent decree prohibits the defendants from discriminating in the future against families with children and requires the defendants to receive training on the requirements of the FHA. In January 2013, while the lawsuit was pending, the HOA modified its occupancy limits to permit four occupants in 2-bedroom townhomes, six occupants in 3-bedroom townhomes, and eight occupants in 4-bedroom townhomes.
“The Fair Housing Act ensures that families with children are not denied their housing rights based on discriminatory occupancy policies,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce fair housing laws that protect the rights of families with children.”
The lawsuit, filed in October 2012, arose from a complaint filed with HUD by a family with six children that was living at the Townhomes of Kings Lake. After the family moved into their 4-bedroom townhome, the defendants indicated there was a problem with the number of people living in the home and threatened to evict the family. The family eventually moved out of the Kings Lake community. After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated the family’s rights, that the restrictive occupancy policies discriminated against other families with children, and that the defendants engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination or denied rights protected by the FHA to a group of persons.
“Twenty-plus years of HUD guidance and cases have put housing providers on notice that occupancy standards which unfairly limit or exclude families with children violate the Fair Housing Act,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD and the Department of Justice are committed to making sure that all people have equal access to the housing for which they financially qualify.”
Monday, August 19, 2013
THERAPEUTIC MEDICINES AND TECHNOLOGY
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
From fundamental science to Innovation Corps: Technology to develop new therapeutic medicines
In medical diagnostics, clinicians often use positron emission technology (PET), a nuclear medicine imaging technology that sends an active molecule containing a radioactive tag--almost like a GPS system--that is designed to hone in on specific parts of the body.
These molecules are specific to certain conditions. For example, abnormally growing tissue will take up large amounts of glucose, so PET scans often use a glucose analog with a radioactive tag to pinpoint a suspected tumor.
Until recently, however, compounds that are known biomarkers for certain diseases had been very difficult to label with radioactive tags, limiting their value for detecting these diseases, for example, L-DOPA, which is taken up by the brain. "Because the technology to put the isotope on the molecule efficiently did not exist, we just couldn't use these compounds," says Stephen DiMagno, professor of chemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
But DiMagno and his research team have found a way to add radioactive tags to L-DOPA, and dopamine, an advance that increases the potential for speeding up the diagnosis of certain pediatric cancers, cardiac disease, and such neurological disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Moreover, "it opens the way to make new compounds as well as 'label' those compounds that had been difficult to label," DiMagno says.
These compounds, with their radioactive tracers, are 6-[18F]-Fluorodopamine (6-[18F], a promising imaging biomarker of neuroblastoma, a serious and often fatal childhood cancer, and pheochromocytoma, a rare tumor of the adrenal gland, and 6-[18F]-L-DOPA, which has potential as a biomarker in patients with Parkinson's disease.
DiMagno and his colleagues, using a specific chemical reaction, developed a process that modifies L-DOPA in a way that allows the radioactive tag to be more easily attached. "The actual reaction we used has been known for a long time, but it was difficult to use effectively because there were fundamental things about the chemistry we did not understand," he says. "It took three or four years, but we fixed the problems that prevented them from being used."
The scientists make "precursor" molecules, that is, the compounds that ultimately will become imaging agents, that are designed to combine rapidly and efficiently with [18F]-fluoride, in a sterile glass reactor, according to DiMagno.
"After heating the mixture under a special set of conditions, the [18F]-fluoride displaces an ancillary portion of the precursor, yielding the fluorinated compound," he says. "Then we quickly purify the compound for use in imaging studies."
DiMagno's lab had long focused on the process of putting fluorine into molecules, but a sabbatical he took seven years ago, when he had time to reflect more deeply about his science, convinced him to work on this particular project.
"I got into science because I wanted to have an impact," he says. "I was doing fundamental work, but I wanted to do more to make a difference in the world. So when I came back, we took an inventory on the possible ways this problem could be solved, to figure out these chemical reactions and the routes for putting the label onto these drugs."
In the fall of 2011, DiMagno was among the first group of scientists to receive a $50,000 National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) award, which supports a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world.
Such results may be translated through I-Corps into technologies with near-term benefits for the economy and society. It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to student participants.
Last February, DiMagno co-founded Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals, a company that now manufactures the precursor molecules, those materials destined to be tagged with radioactive isotopes. The company also has received an NSF $180,000 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award.
"This new chemistry can be used to increase the efficiency and reduce production costs per dose for many existing PET agents," he says. "We believe this technology can also be used to make new PET agents that will assist drug companies in their efforts to develop new therapeutic drugs."
DiMagno worked with his former doctoral student Kiel Neumann, now an employee of the new company, who helped establish a collaboration with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an internationally recognized pediatric treatment and research facility in Memphis. St. Jude's is interested in using radiotracers prepared through this technology to image pediatric cancers.
Interestingly, the research initially grew from an NSF basic science grant of $420,000, awarded in July 2007, that focused on the behavior of salts in liquids such as gasoline.
"That's where the chemistry came from, even though it seems like a pretty far cry from what we are doing now," DiMagno says. "But it's not. It was a logical extension of a basic science proposal."
The researchers formed the new company "to allow physicians to image patients with cancer and diseases such as Alzheimer's better than they could before," he says, adding that he now feels he is making the impact he sought. "I look forward to the day when I can shake some parents' hands because I played role in saving their child's life," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
From fundamental science to Innovation Corps: Technology to develop new therapeutic medicines
In medical diagnostics, clinicians often use positron emission technology (PET), a nuclear medicine imaging technology that sends an active molecule containing a radioactive tag--almost like a GPS system--that is designed to hone in on specific parts of the body.
These molecules are specific to certain conditions. For example, abnormally growing tissue will take up large amounts of glucose, so PET scans often use a glucose analog with a radioactive tag to pinpoint a suspected tumor.
Until recently, however, compounds that are known biomarkers for certain diseases had been very difficult to label with radioactive tags, limiting their value for detecting these diseases, for example, L-DOPA, which is taken up by the brain. "Because the technology to put the isotope on the molecule efficiently did not exist, we just couldn't use these compounds," says Stephen DiMagno, professor of chemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
But DiMagno and his research team have found a way to add radioactive tags to L-DOPA, and dopamine, an advance that increases the potential for speeding up the diagnosis of certain pediatric cancers, cardiac disease, and such neurological disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Moreover, "it opens the way to make new compounds as well as 'label' those compounds that had been difficult to label," DiMagno says.
These compounds, with their radioactive tracers, are 6-[18F]-Fluorodopamine (6-[18F], a promising imaging biomarker of neuroblastoma, a serious and often fatal childhood cancer, and pheochromocytoma, a rare tumor of the adrenal gland, and 6-[18F]-L-DOPA, which has potential as a biomarker in patients with Parkinson's disease.
DiMagno and his colleagues, using a specific chemical reaction, developed a process that modifies L-DOPA in a way that allows the radioactive tag to be more easily attached. "The actual reaction we used has been known for a long time, but it was difficult to use effectively because there were fundamental things about the chemistry we did not understand," he says. "It took three or four years, but we fixed the problems that prevented them from being used."
The scientists make "precursor" molecules, that is, the compounds that ultimately will become imaging agents, that are designed to combine rapidly and efficiently with [18F]-fluoride, in a sterile glass reactor, according to DiMagno.
"After heating the mixture under a special set of conditions, the [18F]-fluoride displaces an ancillary portion of the precursor, yielding the fluorinated compound," he says. "Then we quickly purify the compound for use in imaging studies."
DiMagno's lab had long focused on the process of putting fluorine into molecules, but a sabbatical he took seven years ago, when he had time to reflect more deeply about his science, convinced him to work on this particular project.
"I got into science because I wanted to have an impact," he says. "I was doing fundamental work, but I wanted to do more to make a difference in the world. So when I came back, we took an inventory on the possible ways this problem could be solved, to figure out these chemical reactions and the routes for putting the label onto these drugs."
In the fall of 2011, DiMagno was among the first group of scientists to receive a $50,000 National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) award, which supports a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world.
Such results may be translated through I-Corps into technologies with near-term benefits for the economy and society. It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to student participants.
Last February, DiMagno co-founded Ground Fluor Pharmaceuticals, a company that now manufactures the precursor molecules, those materials destined to be tagged with radioactive isotopes. The company also has received an NSF $180,000 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award.
"This new chemistry can be used to increase the efficiency and reduce production costs per dose for many existing PET agents," he says. "We believe this technology can also be used to make new PET agents that will assist drug companies in their efforts to develop new therapeutic drugs."
DiMagno worked with his former doctoral student Kiel Neumann, now an employee of the new company, who helped establish a collaboration with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an internationally recognized pediatric treatment and research facility in Memphis. St. Jude's is interested in using radiotracers prepared through this technology to image pediatric cancers.
Interestingly, the research initially grew from an NSF basic science grant of $420,000, awarded in July 2007, that focused on the behavior of salts in liquids such as gasoline.
"That's where the chemistry came from, even though it seems like a pretty far cry from what we are doing now," DiMagno says. "But it's not. It was a logical extension of a basic science proposal."
The researchers formed the new company "to allow physicians to image patients with cancer and diseases such as Alzheimer's better than they could before," he says, adding that he now feels he is making the impact he sought. "I look forward to the day when I can shake some parents' hands because I played role in saving their child's life," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Sunday, August 18, 2013
DOJ FILES LAWSUIT TO ENFORCE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MILITARY RESERVE MEMBER
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Delaware Against Regal Contractors LLC Et Al., to Enforce the Employment Rights of Air Force Reserve Member
The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III announced today the filing of a lawsuit alleging that Regal Contractors LLC, Regal Builders LLC and Noble Pond Homes willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by terminating U.S. Air Force Reserve Member Lon Fluman following his return from required military training with his reserve unit.
Fluman is a Senior Airman with the U.S. Air Force Reserve serving with the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover Air Force Base. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, Fluman was scheduled for reserve military duty to begin on Sept. 3, 2012 but was rescheduled on short notice to start one day later. Subsequently, Fluman served weekend reserve duty in early December of 2012. Following his second duty, the defendants terminated Fluman from his position as a maintenance technician. Although Fluman satisfied USERRA’s notification requirements before departing for his military leaves, according to the complaint, the defendants terminated Fluman anyway, claiming the notice provided was not sufficient.
USERRA explicitly protects the rights of members of the uniformed services to retain their employment following absences due to military service obligations. “Congress enacted USERRA to protect our men and women in uniform from experiencing this kind of injustice,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers.”
“Members of the Air Force Reserve sacrifice time away from their jobs to serve their country,” said U.S. Attorney Oberly. “USERRA ensures that they are not discriminated against and that their employment rights are protected.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, who work collaboratively with the Department of Labor to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Delaware Against Regal Contractors LLC Et Al., to Enforce the Employment Rights of Air Force Reserve Member
The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III announced today the filing of a lawsuit alleging that Regal Contractors LLC, Regal Builders LLC and Noble Pond Homes willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by terminating U.S. Air Force Reserve Member Lon Fluman following his return from required military training with his reserve unit.
Fluman is a Senior Airman with the U.S. Air Force Reserve serving with the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover Air Force Base. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, Fluman was scheduled for reserve military duty to begin on Sept. 3, 2012 but was rescheduled on short notice to start one day later. Subsequently, Fluman served weekend reserve duty in early December of 2012. Following his second duty, the defendants terminated Fluman from his position as a maintenance technician. Although Fluman satisfied USERRA’s notification requirements before departing for his military leaves, according to the complaint, the defendants terminated Fluman anyway, claiming the notice provided was not sufficient.
USERRA explicitly protects the rights of members of the uniformed services to retain their employment following absences due to military service obligations. “Congress enacted USERRA to protect our men and women in uniform from experiencing this kind of injustice,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers.”
“Members of the Air Force Reserve sacrifice time away from their jobs to serve their country,” said U.S. Attorney Oberly. “USERRA ensures that they are not discriminated against and that their employment rights are protected.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, who work collaboratively with the Department of Labor to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.
FORMER LIQUOR STORE OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO SELLING CUTTING AGENTS TO DRUG DEALERS
FROM: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Former Owner of Liquor Store Pleads Guilty to Tax Crime and Selling Cutting Agents to Local Drug Dealers
Southfield, Mich., resident Bashar Saroki pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and selling drug paraphernalia, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to court documents, Saroki controlled and operated Golden Star Party Store, a liquor store that was located in Detroit. From 2007 through 2011, Saroki sold more than $1 million worth of a variety of cutting agents to local narcotics dealers out of Golden Star Party Store and from his residence. The cutting agents were substances used by narcotics dealers to dilute the potency and increase the quantity of the narcotics sold to customers. Despite the significant proceeds from the sale of cutting agents, Saroki reported very little income on his false tax return for 2009.
Saroki faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count. U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland set sentencing for Dec. 17, 2013.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, commended the efforts of special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated this case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and Yael T. Epstein, who prosecuted the case.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Former Owner of Liquor Store Pleads Guilty to Tax Crime and Selling Cutting Agents to Local Drug Dealers
Southfield, Mich., resident Bashar Saroki pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and selling drug paraphernalia, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to court documents, Saroki controlled and operated Golden Star Party Store, a liquor store that was located in Detroit. From 2007 through 2011, Saroki sold more than $1 million worth of a variety of cutting agents to local narcotics dealers out of Golden Star Party Store and from his residence. The cutting agents were substances used by narcotics dealers to dilute the potency and increase the quantity of the narcotics sold to customers. Despite the significant proceeds from the sale of cutting agents, Saroki reported very little income on his false tax return for 2009.
Saroki faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count. U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland set sentencing for Dec. 17, 2013.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, commended the efforts of special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated this case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and Yael T. Epstein, who prosecuted the case.
GSA SAYS 'CITY PAIR PROGRAM' SAVES GOVERNMENT BILLIONS
FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
City Pair Program Saves Billions for Federal Agencies
Air travel program leverages government’s buying power to save over $2 billion annually
August 16, 2013
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration announced the award of its cost-saving air travel contracts for 2014, which will save taxpayers approximately $2.2 billion a year. Under GSA’s City Pair Program, airfare rates for the federal government’s official travel are pre-negotiated and offer up to 59 percent off of commercial airfare for the federal workforce. In addition to offering considerable discounts, the City Pair Program allows the federal government additional flexibility in how it books air travel.
“GSA’s mission is to help federal agencies save money, and that includes getting the best price for government travelers," said Tom Sharpe, Jr. Commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. "By leveraging the government’s buying power, we are able to help federal agencies reduce travel costs and save billions of taxpayer dollars.”
GSA’s data-driven analytical approach to managing the program and negotiating with the carriers is driving greater cost savings and performance for the City Pair Program and the overall rates for 2014 are consistently below corporate benchmark rates in all top markets.
In 2014, the City Pair Program is expanding its reach, increasing available routes by 25 percent to more than 6,300 destinations. Average one-way ticket prices for domestic flights have dropped four percent and international rates have dropped seven percent. Additionally, non-stop flights have been expanded by 20 percent to 1,887 routes.
For the upcoming year, the City Pair Program retained all of the same benefits which contribute to greater savings, beyond ticket cost, for government. The program gives federal travelers the flexibility to book one- way, multi-leg, and round-trip airfare at the lowest cost possible, while retaining the ability to adjust or cancel flights at no additional cost to the government.
Another positive trend for federal travelers is that many secondary markets that were not awarded in 2013, because lower commercial fares were readily available, were awarded and will be available in 2014. Following the 2013 decision to not award the secondary markets, instead directing federal travelers to the lower commercially-available rates, the airlines came back to GSA with competitive pricing in those markets this year, allowing for travelers to book lowest rates and receive the benefits associated with booking through City Pairs.
Ten major U.S. carriers were awarded contracts. When awarding City Pair contracts to airlines, GSA considers a number of criteria, including availability of non-stop service, total number of flights, flight availability, average elapsed flight time, availability of jet service, and price of service. The program also offers dual fare markets to provide flexibility for immediate travel and discounted fares for booking flights early. The 2014 rates will become effective October 1, 2013.
City Pair Program Saves Billions for Federal Agencies
Air travel program leverages government’s buying power to save over $2 billion annually
August 16, 2013
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration announced the award of its cost-saving air travel contracts for 2014, which will save taxpayers approximately $2.2 billion a year. Under GSA’s City Pair Program, airfare rates for the federal government’s official travel are pre-negotiated and offer up to 59 percent off of commercial airfare for the federal workforce. In addition to offering considerable discounts, the City Pair Program allows the federal government additional flexibility in how it books air travel.
“GSA’s mission is to help federal agencies save money, and that includes getting the best price for government travelers," said Tom Sharpe, Jr. Commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. "By leveraging the government’s buying power, we are able to help federal agencies reduce travel costs and save billions of taxpayer dollars.”
GSA’s data-driven analytical approach to managing the program and negotiating with the carriers is driving greater cost savings and performance for the City Pair Program and the overall rates for 2014 are consistently below corporate benchmark rates in all top markets.
In 2014, the City Pair Program is expanding its reach, increasing available routes by 25 percent to more than 6,300 destinations. Average one-way ticket prices for domestic flights have dropped four percent and international rates have dropped seven percent. Additionally, non-stop flights have been expanded by 20 percent to 1,887 routes.
For the upcoming year, the City Pair Program retained all of the same benefits which contribute to greater savings, beyond ticket cost, for government. The program gives federal travelers the flexibility to book one- way, multi-leg, and round-trip airfare at the lowest cost possible, while retaining the ability to adjust or cancel flights at no additional cost to the government.
Another positive trend for federal travelers is that many secondary markets that were not awarded in 2013, because lower commercial fares were readily available, were awarded and will be available in 2014. Following the 2013 decision to not award the secondary markets, instead directing federal travelers to the lower commercially-available rates, the airlines came back to GSA with competitive pricing in those markets this year, allowing for travelers to book lowest rates and receive the benefits associated with booking through City Pairs.
Ten major U.S. carriers were awarded contracts. When awarding City Pair contracts to airlines, GSA considers a number of criteria, including availability of non-stop service, total number of flights, flight availability, average elapsed flight time, availability of jet service, and price of service. The program also offers dual fare markets to provide flexibility for immediate travel and discounted fares for booking flights early. The 2014 rates will become effective October 1, 2013.
12 PACIFIC WOMEN LEADERS TO ATTEND CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAM
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Women Leaders from Pacific Participate in U.S. Program on Climate Change
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 16, 2013
From August 18 – 28, 2013, twelve women climate leaders from across the Pacific region will visit Washington, D.C., Pensacola, Florida, and Honolulu, Hawaii to meet with policymakers, scientists, and innovators to share their experiences and to learn about U.S. efforts to combat climate change. This exchange, a joint initiative of the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, advances the Rarotonga Partnership for the Advancement of Pacific Island Women and broader U.S. efforts to support the critical role of women around the world in combating climate change. It also builds on a 2012 International Visitors Leadership Program of women climate leaders.
In Washington, the group will meet with senior officials from the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy; participate in a roundtable discussion with non-governmental organizations and a panel with World Bank experts on climate change; and receive training in social media at George Washington University.
In Pensacola and Honolulu, the participants will engage in a series of meetings and site visits to learn more about topics related to climate change, ranging from disaster risk management and emergency operations to environmental conservation to innovative renewable energy technologies. In Pensacola, the participants will learn more about life in the United States by engaging with local residents during home hospitality visits.
Representing the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, these climate leaders will share practical skills and ideas learned with counterparts upon returning home.
Women Leaders from Pacific Participate in U.S. Program on Climate Change
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 16, 2013
From August 18 – 28, 2013, twelve women climate leaders from across the Pacific region will visit Washington, D.C., Pensacola, Florida, and Honolulu, Hawaii to meet with policymakers, scientists, and innovators to share their experiences and to learn about U.S. efforts to combat climate change. This exchange, a joint initiative of the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, advances the Rarotonga Partnership for the Advancement of Pacific Island Women and broader U.S. efforts to support the critical role of women around the world in combating climate change. It also builds on a 2012 International Visitors Leadership Program of women climate leaders.
In Washington, the group will meet with senior officials from the Department of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy; participate in a roundtable discussion with non-governmental organizations and a panel with World Bank experts on climate change; and receive training in social media at George Washington University.
In Pensacola and Honolulu, the participants will engage in a series of meetings and site visits to learn more about topics related to climate change, ranging from disaster risk management and emergency operations to environmental conservation to innovative renewable energy technologies. In Pensacola, the participants will learn more about life in the United States by engaging with local residents during home hospitality visits.
Representing the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, these climate leaders will share practical skills and ideas learned with counterparts upon returning home.
SAVING MILITARY MORALE, WELFARE AND RECREATION UNDER TIGHTENING BUDGETS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Officials Strive to Protect MWR Programs Amid Budget Cuts
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2013 - Committed to preserving quality-of-life offerings despite ever-tighter budgets, military morale, welfare and recreation officials are scaling back in some areas as they introduce innovative approaches to delivering services and programs.
Military fitness centers, swimming pools, lodging facilities and outdoor recreation offices might sound to some like a footnote among competing budget requirements. But Ed Miles, DOD's MWR policy director, and his counterparts across the military services see a close connection to military readiness.
"We have a direct impact on the readiness and retention and resilience of the troops and their families," Miles told American Forces Press Service. "When you have a healthy and fit force, it has absolute national security implications -- in terms of stress reduction, physical and emotional health and esprit de corps.
Congress has long agreed, authorizing funds since 1989 to cover 85 percent of programs with the most direct link to readiness: fitness centers, community centers and library programs, among them, Miles explained.
Amenities such as arts-and-crafts centers, outdoor recreation centers and youth programs that are less directly tied to readiness receive a lower authorization of 65 percent.
Meanwhile, "nice-to-have" offerings such as military golf courses, bowling alleys, campgrounds, food and beverage services and similar services generally must be self-supporting, with user fees covering all costs and overhead.
A variety of factors has thrown this formula off kilter, Miles said. With increased privatization, almost three-quarters of military families now live off installations and tap services and programs in their communities. Many, like their civilian neighbors, have fewer spare dollars to spend on recreation. And with sequestration putting a big dent in already-reduced MWR budgets, the military services find themselves struggling to provide quality-of-life programs and services to their members.
It all converges after 11 years of war -- at a time when safe, affordable options for military members and their families to blow off steam are more important than ever, said Bob Vogt, the Army's division chief for soldier and community recreation.
"If we didn't have the programs offered on an installation for a soldier or his family, they would have to go find a release somewhere else," he said. "We have a safe, controlled environment on our installations, and we can offer a reduced fee for a lot of programs to help them release some of that pent-up stress and frustration.
"So our goal is to try not to reduce or eliminate any services and to try to maintain the current level of services," Vogt said.
In some cases, that has required the Army to borrow from nonappropriated-fund activities to keep fitness centers and other appropriated activities running.
"But we can only do that for so long, because it puts our funding under a lot of strain," Vogt said. "Over the short term, it allows you to maintain your services. But if you start diverting funds from self-sustaining activities for an extended period of time, you lose your ability to recapitalize. When the roof on the club collapses or the freezer blows up, you don't have the funds you need to recapitalize."
Across the services, officials are looking at other ways to keep MWR programs viable.
They're beginning to scale back operating hours at fitness centers to the Defense Department-mandated 90 hours per week. Patrons increasingly find themselves being asked to pay nominal fees for aerobics and other fitness classes taught by paid staffers. Library hours at many installations have been reduced to 40 hours a week. Most bases now operate just one pool to reduce lifeguard salaries and other overhead costs. Outdoor recreation centers are considering charging rental fees for skis and other equipment, rather than the smaller maintenance fee charged in the past. Concerts and other special entertainment have been scaled back or cancelled altogether.
Volunteers, long the backbone of many MWR services and programs, are putting in more time in fitness centers, family support centers and libraries as well as on intramural fields to cover personnel shortfalls.
"It would be a lot tougher for our staff to deliver the quantity and quality of programs they do without those volunteers," Miles said. "And with sequestration, we find that we are depending on them more than ever. Without our volunteers, we would be in a world of hurt."
The decisions to reduce or eliminate services have been tough, Vogt acknowledged.
"With sequestration and the loss of appropriated fund support to continue many of our programs, we are going to have to increase user fees, reduce hours or possibly eliminate services," he said. "But we are doing everything in our power not to let that happen."
As decisions are made, the emphasis remains on readiness, officials emphasized.
The Navy, for example, has put fitness, libraries and the Liberty Program that serves single sailors at the top of its list, reported Lorraine Seidel, Navy recreation program manager.
"Those programs are pretty important to have," she said. "So by curtailing other programs somewhat, but not down to the bone, we are allowing some flexibility to retain those things that we really need to have on the base."
Based on extensive surveys, the Air Force identified fitness, appropriated-fund dining facilities, youth and child care services, outdoor programs and libraries as its most important offerings, said Michael Bensen, the Air Force Personnel Center's deputy director of services.
In some cases, the services are trying new innovations to keep popular programs running.
The Air Force, for example, is testing a pilot program at six bases that gives qualified users 24/7 access to fitness centers, even after the paid staff has left for the day. Based on the results, the initiative could be expanded to more bases, Bensen explained.
The Navy is revamping its community recreation program to bundle services and programs at one location, Seidel reported. A waterfront recreational area at Naval Base San Diego serves as a model, combining outdoor recreation services and the ticket booth for local tours and attractions under one roof, served by a central front desk. Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, initiated a similar concept, consolidating MWR activities under one overall manager.
New partnerships are helping to keep services going despite budget cuts. In some cases, military patrons now get free or low-cost access to community or commercial services and programs that their installations no longer offer.
For example, Joint Base Andrews in Maryland established a partnership with a popular private-sector company that teaches rappelling, kayaking and other outdoor activities to military patrons. That saves the Air Force the cost of hiring its own instructors while ensuring "a quality experience at a reduced cost," Bensen said.
In other cases, installations are opening their doors to outside patrons. Many Army posts invite local swim teams to their pools and high school golf clubs to their golf courses. One particularly successful arrangement between the Presidio of Monterey and the city of Monterey, Calif., provides free maintenance services on the post's sports fields in exchange for city use of those fields based on availability, Vogt reported.
"We are generating income, working with our partners outside the gate, and offering programs we might not otherwise be able to offer," he said. "We are trying to be creative and tie into municipalities outside the gate, many of them in the same situation we are. So it is a perfect time for us to partner with everybody."
That mindset must continue to sustain morale, welfare and recreation programs through the current budget crunch, officials said. The result, they said, will have a direct impact on military readiness.
"We think MWR makes for an overall healthy living experience," Seidel said. "If we don't take a step back and take care of ourselves, we lose the ability to function and be at our best. That underlies everything MWR strives to provide, so [service members] can live a healthy life and be ready for the job."
Officials Strive to Protect MWR Programs Amid Budget Cuts
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2013 - Committed to preserving quality-of-life offerings despite ever-tighter budgets, military morale, welfare and recreation officials are scaling back in some areas as they introduce innovative approaches to delivering services and programs.
Military fitness centers, swimming pools, lodging facilities and outdoor recreation offices might sound to some like a footnote among competing budget requirements. But Ed Miles, DOD's MWR policy director, and his counterparts across the military services see a close connection to military readiness.
"We have a direct impact on the readiness and retention and resilience of the troops and their families," Miles told American Forces Press Service. "When you have a healthy and fit force, it has absolute national security implications -- in terms of stress reduction, physical and emotional health and esprit de corps.
Congress has long agreed, authorizing funds since 1989 to cover 85 percent of programs with the most direct link to readiness: fitness centers, community centers and library programs, among them, Miles explained.
Amenities such as arts-and-crafts centers, outdoor recreation centers and youth programs that are less directly tied to readiness receive a lower authorization of 65 percent.
Meanwhile, "nice-to-have" offerings such as military golf courses, bowling alleys, campgrounds, food and beverage services and similar services generally must be self-supporting, with user fees covering all costs and overhead.
A variety of factors has thrown this formula off kilter, Miles said. With increased privatization, almost three-quarters of military families now live off installations and tap services and programs in their communities. Many, like their civilian neighbors, have fewer spare dollars to spend on recreation. And with sequestration putting a big dent in already-reduced MWR budgets, the military services find themselves struggling to provide quality-of-life programs and services to their members.
It all converges after 11 years of war -- at a time when safe, affordable options for military members and their families to blow off steam are more important than ever, said Bob Vogt, the Army's division chief for soldier and community recreation.
"If we didn't have the programs offered on an installation for a soldier or his family, they would have to go find a release somewhere else," he said. "We have a safe, controlled environment on our installations, and we can offer a reduced fee for a lot of programs to help them release some of that pent-up stress and frustration.
"So our goal is to try not to reduce or eliminate any services and to try to maintain the current level of services," Vogt said.
In some cases, that has required the Army to borrow from nonappropriated-fund activities to keep fitness centers and other appropriated activities running.
"But we can only do that for so long, because it puts our funding under a lot of strain," Vogt said. "Over the short term, it allows you to maintain your services. But if you start diverting funds from self-sustaining activities for an extended period of time, you lose your ability to recapitalize. When the roof on the club collapses or the freezer blows up, you don't have the funds you need to recapitalize."
Across the services, officials are looking at other ways to keep MWR programs viable.
They're beginning to scale back operating hours at fitness centers to the Defense Department-mandated 90 hours per week. Patrons increasingly find themselves being asked to pay nominal fees for aerobics and other fitness classes taught by paid staffers. Library hours at many installations have been reduced to 40 hours a week. Most bases now operate just one pool to reduce lifeguard salaries and other overhead costs. Outdoor recreation centers are considering charging rental fees for skis and other equipment, rather than the smaller maintenance fee charged in the past. Concerts and other special entertainment have been scaled back or cancelled altogether.
Volunteers, long the backbone of many MWR services and programs, are putting in more time in fitness centers, family support centers and libraries as well as on intramural fields to cover personnel shortfalls.
"It would be a lot tougher for our staff to deliver the quantity and quality of programs they do without those volunteers," Miles said. "And with sequestration, we find that we are depending on them more than ever. Without our volunteers, we would be in a world of hurt."
The decisions to reduce or eliminate services have been tough, Vogt acknowledged.
"With sequestration and the loss of appropriated fund support to continue many of our programs, we are going to have to increase user fees, reduce hours or possibly eliminate services," he said. "But we are doing everything in our power not to let that happen."
As decisions are made, the emphasis remains on readiness, officials emphasized.
The Navy, for example, has put fitness, libraries and the Liberty Program that serves single sailors at the top of its list, reported Lorraine Seidel, Navy recreation program manager.
"Those programs are pretty important to have," she said. "So by curtailing other programs somewhat, but not down to the bone, we are allowing some flexibility to retain those things that we really need to have on the base."
Based on extensive surveys, the Air Force identified fitness, appropriated-fund dining facilities, youth and child care services, outdoor programs and libraries as its most important offerings, said Michael Bensen, the Air Force Personnel Center's deputy director of services.
In some cases, the services are trying new innovations to keep popular programs running.
The Air Force, for example, is testing a pilot program at six bases that gives qualified users 24/7 access to fitness centers, even after the paid staff has left for the day. Based on the results, the initiative could be expanded to more bases, Bensen explained.
The Navy is revamping its community recreation program to bundle services and programs at one location, Seidel reported. A waterfront recreational area at Naval Base San Diego serves as a model, combining outdoor recreation services and the ticket booth for local tours and attractions under one roof, served by a central front desk. Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, initiated a similar concept, consolidating MWR activities under one overall manager.
New partnerships are helping to keep services going despite budget cuts. In some cases, military patrons now get free or low-cost access to community or commercial services and programs that their installations no longer offer.
For example, Joint Base Andrews in Maryland established a partnership with a popular private-sector company that teaches rappelling, kayaking and other outdoor activities to military patrons. That saves the Air Force the cost of hiring its own instructors while ensuring "a quality experience at a reduced cost," Bensen said.
In other cases, installations are opening their doors to outside patrons. Many Army posts invite local swim teams to their pools and high school golf clubs to their golf courses. One particularly successful arrangement between the Presidio of Monterey and the city of Monterey, Calif., provides free maintenance services on the post's sports fields in exchange for city use of those fields based on availability, Vogt reported.
"We are generating income, working with our partners outside the gate, and offering programs we might not otherwise be able to offer," he said. "We are trying to be creative and tie into municipalities outside the gate, many of them in the same situation we are. So it is a perfect time for us to partner with everybody."
That mindset must continue to sustain morale, welfare and recreation programs through the current budget crunch, officials said. The result, they said, will have a direct impact on military readiness.
"We think MWR makes for an overall healthy living experience," Seidel said. "If we don't take a step back and take care of ourselves, we lose the ability to function and be at our best. That underlies everything MWR strives to provide, so [service members] can live a healthy life and be ready for the job."
LABOR DEPARTMENT AWARDS GRANT MONEY FOR HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY IN R.I.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
US Department of Labor awards grant increment to continue Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in Rhode Island
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $500,000 National Emergency Grant increment to assist Rhode Island with continued cleanup and recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
"Rhode Island is still cleaning up beaches and other public lands damaged by Hurricane Sandy," said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Eric M. Seleznow. "This additional funding will provide much needed cleanup assistance while also providing temporary work for those in need of employment."
On Nov. 3, 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency initially declared the Rhode Island counties of Bristol, Newport and Washington as eligible for FEMA's Public Assistance Program. FEMA subsequently declared Kent County as eligible for the program. More information on designated disaster areas in Rhode Island is available from FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4089/designated-areas.
The department approved a grant for up to $1.5 million on Nov. 6, 2012, with $500,000 released initially. The department awarded a $500,000 grant increment in May 2013. This latest funding increment brings the total awarded to $1.5 million.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to meet specific guidelines.
US Department of Labor awards grant increment to continue Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in Rhode Island
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $500,000 National Emergency Grant increment to assist Rhode Island with continued cleanup and recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
"Rhode Island is still cleaning up beaches and other public lands damaged by Hurricane Sandy," said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Eric M. Seleznow. "This additional funding will provide much needed cleanup assistance while also providing temporary work for those in need of employment."
On Nov. 3, 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency initially declared the Rhode Island counties of Bristol, Newport and Washington as eligible for FEMA's Public Assistance Program. FEMA subsequently declared Kent County as eligible for the program. More information on designated disaster areas in Rhode Island is available from FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4089/designated-areas.
The department approved a grant for up to $1.5 million on Nov. 6, 2012, with $500,000 released initially. The department awarded a $500,000 grant increment in May 2013. This latest funding increment brings the total awarded to $1.5 million.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to meet specific guidelines.
ASSEMBLY OF THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE
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| A crane in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., lowers a test mass simulator (center of frame) onto the Ambient Optical Assembly Stand or AOAS to ensure it can support the James Webb Space Telescope's Optical Telescope Element during its assembly. Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn |
Dropping in on a James Webb Space Telescope Clean Room Test
The James Webb Space Telescope is a large space telescope, optimized for infrared wavelengths. It is scheduled for launch later in this decade. Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way galaxy. Webb will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own solar system. Webb's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.
Webb will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter, and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. The mirror and sunshade won't fit into a rocket fully open, so both will be folded and open once Webb is in outer space. Webb will reside in an orbit about 1.5 million km (1 million miles) from Earth at the second Lagrange point.
The James Webb Space Telescope was named after a former NASA administrator.
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