March 14, 2019. Emergency Management and Preparedness-Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities Webinar.

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser Webinar Reminder – "ADA National Network Learning Session: Recovery After Disasters and Individuals with Disabilities - What We Know and What We Do Not" March 14th, 2019 Webinars begin at 2.30pm EST/1.30pm CST/12.30pm MST/11.30am PST/9:30am Hawaii. Registration: Free on-line at http://www.adapresentations.org/registration.php Registration closes at midnight, March 13th, 2019. Of the phases of the disaster cycle, the recovery phase is the longest but the least explored with respect to the experiences of people with disabilities. This session will provide an overview of what research reveals about the needs of people with disabilities and their families post-disaster. Barriers to the recovery process as well as the resource and service roles of state and local agencies, FEMA, and voluntary organizations post-disaster will be discussed. Learning objectives: Attendees will learn what research findings reveal about the needs of people with disabilities post-disaster. Attendees will identify barriers which individuals with disabilities and their families encounter during the recovery phase of disaster. Attendees will identify recovery services and resources typically available through various organizations post-disaster. Presenters: Dr. Laura M. Stough is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Assistant Director at the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University. She directs Project REDD: Research and Education on Disaster and Disability and currently serves as Chair of the Disability Task Force on Emergency Management for the Division of Emergency Management for the State of Texas and as Chair of the Emergency Management Special Interest Group for the Association of University Centers on Disability. Dr. Amy N. Sharp is the Director of the Texas Center for Disability Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She has developed online directories and resource guides used by county extension agents and disaster recovery case managers throughout Texas. Dr. Sharp has conducted evaluation and research studies on how hurricanes impact individuals with disabilities. Originally from California, Elizabeth Hong moved to Texas four years ago. Liz is the mother of four children, two with disabilities. She is a former special education teacher, with a passion for educational rights, mental health and helping to support families. She works at Texas Parent to Parent on the Family Support team providing information for families whose child has a disability. To view upcoming sessions, go to http://www.adapresentations.org/schedule.php To see previous sessions, go to http://www.adapresentations.org/archive.php The information presented in this webinar is intended solely as informal guidance, and is neither a determination of legal rights or responsibilities by NIDILRR. Copyright © 2019 Pacific ADA Center, All rights reserved.

Black Emergency Managers Association            International
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Office:   202-618-9097
bEMA International

     

"It is my belief that the best results in business come from a creative process, from the ability to see things differently from everyone else, and from finding answers to problems that are not bound by the phrase 'we have always done it this way.' "  Wayne Rogers

Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)             A 501 (c) 3 organization.

NPR: Search The Thousands of Disaster Buyouts FEMA Didn't Want You To See

Search The Thousands of Disaster Buyouts FEMA Didn't Want You To See

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/696995788/search-the-thousands-of-disaster-buyouts-fema-didnt-want-you-to-see

For many families, the nightmare of a catastrophic flood is only just getting started when the waters recede. But that nightmare — one that has become increasingly common across the United States — may be worse depending on who you are.

An NPR investigation found that white communities nationwide have disproportionately received more federal buyouts after a disaster than communities of color. Federal disaster aid is allocated based on a cost-benefit calculation meant to minimize taxpayer risk. That means money is not necessarily doled out to those who need it most but rather to those whose property is worth more — and to those who own property in the first place. That mirrors the existing racial wealth gap in the United States.

Investigations How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich

NPR analyzed records from a Federal Emergency Management Agency database of more than 40,000 property acquisitions, or "buyouts," funded by the agency from 1989 through 2017. The program buys homes from eligible homeowners who opt in. It then turns those lots into open space.

Our analysis shows that most of the buyouts in the FEMA database happened in neighborhoods that were more than 85 percent white and non-Hispanic, even though disasters affect all kinds of communities. For context, the U.S. is 62 percent white and non-Hispanic.

Search the data for yourself below.

NPR obtained the records after suing FEMA under the Freedom of Information Act. We then used the five-digit ZIP codes associated with the property addresses to compare the buyout data with U.S. Census Bureau data on demographics. We chose Census Bureau data sets that best corresponded with the time frame of each buyout record.

Some ZIP codes won't come up with many — or any — records, which could mean that FEMA buyouts didn't happen there during the time period for which we received records or that those records don't appear in the database.

But other ZIP codes have hundreds of records. After Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the database shows, hundreds of households took buyouts along the East Coast in cities like Manville, N.J. (08835), where part of our investigation focused. The records indicate hundreds of buyouts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in places like Pearlington, M.S. (39572), which is close to where that catastrophic storm made landfall. 

Even without including 2017's Hurricane Harvey, records for ZIP codes in flood-prone Houston (like 77040) show more than 1,600 buyouts dating back to 1995.

The database also includes more than just severe flooding: A 1998 landslide resulted in dozens of buyouts in Kelso, Wash. (98626), and in 1991, an ice storm wreaked havoc across parts of Indiana (46060 and 46952, among others), according to the database.

Below, you can search for FEMA buyouts in your ZIP code or any other part of the country. Any records found will be returned with the most recent ones first. The federal "Fiscal Year" shown can refer to when the disaster occurred or when federal funds were allocated. You can also download the entire database.

How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich

In the early and mid-20th century, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. counties experienced a disaster each year. Today, it's about 50 percent. According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, climate change is already driving more severe droughts, floods and wildfires in the U.S. And those disasters are expensive. The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage. 

But an NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth. Federal aid isn't necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk.

March 9, 2019. Washington, D.C. Feed the Hood Project. Volunteers Wanted.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers Needed! Join us this Saturday, March 9 at Barry Farms Recreation Center. Feed the Hood is a monthly grassroots project coordinated by NBUF and its community partners to ensure the less fortunate have access to food, clothing, personal hygiene items and medical supplies. During the event, NBUF, in collaboration with volunteers and community service groups, prepare an average of 200 care packages that are distributed to homeless men and women that reside in NBUF-DC's sponsored park, Shepherd Park.   Register to volunteer or bring supplies via the link below. 

Register to volunteer

Unfold a chair, sit at the table. Will you help lead Sister Cities International?

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.  Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity . . .This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos or community.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

‘Where Are We Going From Here:  Chaos or Community’.

  

Get involved with SCI: Join our Board of Directors        View this email in your browser Sister Cities International Now Accepting Applications for Open Positions on the Board of Directors Download Application Form Sister Cities International’s Board of Directors is elected by its voting members—local sister city organizations. The board elections include both electronic voting as well as in-person voting at the Annual Business Meeting held during Sister Cities International’s Annual Conference each year. Download Application Nine (9) At-Large Board positions as well as the Young Professional position will be filled by election. Seven (7) of the positions are for full three-year terms (2019-2022), one (1) is for a two-year position (2019-2021) and one (1) is for a one-year position (2019-2020). The three-year positions will be filled by the 1st through 7th place candidates, the two-year by the 8th place and one-year by the 9th place. The Young Professional position (under 35 years old) will serve for the normal two year term. It is the policy of Sister Cities International Board of Directors that each candidate applying for the above positions, including current Directors running for second terms, must submit their application materials and all supplemental information by Monday, April 15th to Shelby Bunker at sbunker@sistercities.org. Applications received after this date will not be considered. If you have any questions about running for the board, please reference our FAQ below. You may also visit our Board Elections page and our Board Elections FAQ page for additional information.

Opportunity: CDEMA Procurement. February 2019

Procurement Notice – CDEMA intends to establish a Framework Agreement for the Supply of Humanitarian Emergency Relief Items Interested Bidders are invited to request the full bidding documents via email procurement@cdema.org. Deadline for Pre-Qualification submission is 18th March 2019. Please click here for further details. https://www.cdema.org/opportunities

Corruption. Corruption is a global issue. February 2019

Corruption.  

Corruption is a global issue. 

In the U.S. Systems designed with at a minimum three major components:   monitoring\detection, prosecution, and incarceration. 

Other nations do have monitoring\detection established, but little if any prosecution or incarceration.   Without use of entire components corruption has an appearance of cultural acceptance and a way of doing business. 

Make the change.

BEMA International

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/ex-montgomery-official-gets-4-years-in-federal-prison-for-67m-embezzling-scheme/2019/02/22/125096bc-3552-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1b4b34af5b47 Ex-Montgomery County official gets 4 years in federal prison for embezzling $6.7 million Peter Bang, front, walks into the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt on Friday with his lawyer, Gerald W. Kelly Jr. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) By Jennifer Barrios February 22 Byung Il “Peter” Bang, the former Montgomery County economic development official who admitted to stealing $6.7 million from the county, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison. In a hearing that stretched for more than two hours, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis underscored the seriousness of the offense — which she called a “doozy” — while also noting Bang’s role as a devoted husband and father, and his efforts to seek help for the gambling addiction that prosecutors say motivated him to steal from government coffers. “This was a purposeful plan that involved the largest theft in Montgomery County history, and I cannot look away from that,” Xinis said. Bang pleaded guilty Nov. 16 to two federal charges — one of wire fraud and the other of fraud and false statements — and to state charges of a theft scheme over $100,000 and misconduct in office. Sentencing in the state case is scheduled for next month. In the moments before Xinis made her ruling, Bang addressed the court, repeatedly saying he took “full responsibility” for the years-long theft. But he quibbled with some points raised during the hearing, arguing, for example, that a shell company prosecutors say he set up to further the scheme was actually initially created for legitimate purposes. “At this point, I have no excuse,” Bang told the judge, lawyers and spectators in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt. “I want to express remorse, shame and offer apologies to my former employer and colleagues.” He said he hasn’t gambled since 2016 and has been undergoing treatment with a psychologist, who diagnosed him as a “compulsive gambler with deep-rooted emotional and mental issues.” Prosecutors had asked Xinis to sentence Bang to five years on the first federal charge, with an additional three years to run concurrently on the second. Xinis imposed a 48-month sentence for the first charge and 36 months for the second, to be served concurrently. She said his state sentence also should be served concurrently. “He has arguably put a black mark on Montgomery County,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sullivan, noting that Bang stole from a department tasked with bringing economic development to the Maryland suburb of 1.1 million people. “Are businesses going to come to Montgomery County when they know this type of malfeasance has occurred?” Bang’s wife, Youn Jung, and his pastor both spoke at the hearing, emphasizing his role as a family man, albeit with psychological issues. In a soft, halting voice, his wife recounted her life with him. “I asked him why, and my husband said, ‘I don’t know,’” she said as Bang stared straight ahead, his fingers interlaced before him. Bang’s attorney, Gerald W. Kelly Jr., of Columbia, had requested three years in prison for his client. “A gambling addiction and untreated mental health condition directly related to his conduct,” Kelly said to the judge. “Mr. Bang stands before this court with sincere remorse for his crimes.” But Deputy County Attorney John Markovs, speaking for Montgomery County, called Bang’s crime “a case of public corruption at the highest level.” “While Mr. Bang may be a loving husband and father, that belies his intentions,” Markovs said. “His embezzlement of county money is not a victimless crime.” [Fake invoices and gambling debts: How a bureaucrat stole $6.7 million] (READ MORE)