The Color Change: White Washing a City - by Dr. Beverly Wright, PhD

Sunday, August 16, 2015                                                          For Immediate Release  YOUR OPINIONS  Letter to the Editor The Color Change:  White Washing a City It Started with those Green Dots Commentary by Dr. Beverly Wright, PhD    Dr. Beverly Wright Let's just be "real" about how Black people feel their quality of life has, or is changing, ten years after Katrina. I can tell you this; Black folks know that things are changing, but at their core, they do not believe these changes will benefit them. They basically see a "New" New Orleans that is whiter and richer, and they see this happening at their expense. They can identify a number of actions taken by local and state government that have dramatically affected their lives. These include: (1) the Plan for the Future or the infamous "green dot map"; (2) the takeover of the New Orleans Public Schools by the state forming the Recovery School District; (3) the hostile takeover of public schools by charter networks; (4) the firing of all New Orleans public school teachers and personnel; (5) the suspension of the federal Davis-Bacon Act; and (6) the awarding of billions of dollars in no-bid contracts to a handful of politically connected nationally-based contractors. In this blog, I will speak to one of them, the Plan for the Future. In order to understand the real implications and the devastating results of these actions, we have to begin at the beginning. And for most African American and Vietnamese New Orleanians, it starts with the "green dot map." I remember my phone ringing very early one morning and it continued to ring with calls from friends, most of whom lived in Eastern New Orleans before the storm, asking me if I had seen the front page of the Baton Rouge Advocate. I was living there at the time, having been wrenched from my home in "the East" by Katrina.   I recall running to the door to get the paper and immediately seeing why everyone was so frantic. There it was; a map of the city of New Orleans, with a large green dot sitting right on top of the area where our homes were located. As I looked at the legend that indicated these green dot areas were to be converted to parks and green space, I felt an incredible sense of disbelief that quickly morphed into anger. Even more incredulous was the additional twist that indicated these were also areas where a building moratorium would remain in effect until neighborhoods could prove viability. The city was going to turn our homes into green space and essentially prevent residents from rebuilding!   To top it off, there were other categories for rebuilding identified on the map which included; (1) areas where rebuilding was allowed (that's right, you guessed it; most of these areas were not even flooded); and (2) areas to be redeveloped, some with new housing for relocated homeowners, where "coincidentally," Southern University, the University of New Orleans and Dillard University were located. The city had invested so much in these institutions of higher learning that refusing to invest in the surrounding areas could not plausibly be defended even though these areas had been "drowned" by flood waters, just as much as some of those areas plastered with green dots. In this lies the fuel for the fire.    Bluntly stated, most African Americans felt that this Plan for the Future "was an attempt to take their homes and not allow them to return to the city." The designation of the Uptown area - which most African American citizens know to be home to many affluent white families - as one in which rebuilding would be allowed; and conversely, New Orleans East and parts of Gentilly - well known to be predominantly African American and Vietnamese - as areas where neighborhoods must prove viability or simply be designated as suitable for green space, sealed the anguish, heightened the distrust of government, and bolstered the belief that Black people would not be treated fairly under this "Plan for the Future."  While activism and community self determination beat back the "green dot plan," planners began to deny its authenticity by inferring that it was only a suggestion. Resettlement in these areas began despite the plan and to this day has been very successful through the shear will and energy of those residents who turned the onslaught against their communities into fuel for rebuilding. But, I cannot say that this success extended to all aspects of recovery in these communities. What has failed is the ability of these communities, especially those in New Orleans East, to experience the enormous amount of economic development taking place in other parts of the city. Residents have watched with dismay as "The East" has seen a proliferation of multi-family housing economically fueled by Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) coupled with an enormous shortage of affordable housing fueled by the destruction of public housing and astronomical increases in rents in areas that have traditionally been home to African American citizens. Gentrification in these areas is taking place at warp speed.    As a resident of eastern New Orleans, I can tell you that the community feels betrayed by both local, state and federal government officials, whom they blame for the lack of amenities in their communities and an increase in disamenties, inclusive of crime, litter, and the proliferation of undesirable businesses such as pawn shops, liquor stores, halfway houses, and dollar stores on every corner. As one resident put it, "I should have known something was up when they began to build a dollar store at every I-10 exit in the East." While the plan to stop rebuilding in the East by turning neighborhoods into green space failed; the plan seems to have another alternate phase, which I call "trash the neighborhoods, and they will leave." Most Black homeowners believe that they are being "run out of their neighborhoods." They see the new design for the city by these two telltale neon signs: (1) the reconstruction of "housing projects" through the use of former luxury apartment complexes, not designed for large families, nor having the amenities required for the safe and healthy upbringing of children); and (2) the "white washing" of traditionally African American neighborhoods, pushing poor people out to the suburbs (i.e. New Orleans East) where housing is more affordable- gentrification at the expense of the poor.  The city of New Orelans' progress toward prosperity should have at its foundation, the inclusion of the well-being of African American communities. While my discussion here has focused only on the Plan for the Future, many actions listed in beginning of this blog, have stimulated change and movement towards the total transformation of the city. And I will say loudly and clearly, if city officials, federal and state government, urban planners, developers and realtors don't change the present trajectory of this transformation, New Orleans will become a city where Black folks used to live. Dr. Beverly Wright is a sociologist and the Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Dr. Wright may be reached via email via bhwright@aol.com. ### Your Alternative Newsletter - News, Arts, Culture & Entertainment    The New Orleans Agenda newsletter is the leading local alternative for information on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region.  A provider of turnkey Web-Based Internet Marketing Services, we specialize in servicing community and faith-based entities, corporate and professional organizations, and arts & cultural interest events. The New Orleans Agenda newsletter has received more than 8 Million Page Views!  Let us introduce you to our audience.   Vincent T. Sylvain, Publisher Sincerely,  Vincent T. Sylvain The New Orleans Agenda  Email: Vincent@SylvainSolutions.com Expert Solutions for Your Communication Needs! VISIT OUR WEBSITE SUBSCRIBE TO LIST FORWARD EMAIL Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Invitation to All. August 29, 2015, the New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival. City of Los Angeles, California

Greetings All!

On Saturday, August 29, 2015, the New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival will be held at Leimert Park Village located at Vernon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in the City of Los Angeles, California from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Exactly ten years ago on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the City of New Orleans with devastating consequences. Over 2,000 residents were killed by the storm and thousands more were either missing or displaced from the Crescent City. Many of the displaced residents were forced to relocate to other cities around the nation, including Los Angeles, the City of Angels.

I am a sixth generation New Orleans native.  Many of my family members and friends were deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. My former neighborhood, childhood home, grammar school, high school, and church were all destroyed.  Many former residents are deceased or displaced and still in need of assistance. There will be testimonials at the event from those who have survived the storm.

This festival will serve to celebrate the unique culture, heritage, music, and cuisine of New Orleans; featuring second-line dancers, live entertainment, arts and crafts, as well as a variety of Creole, Cajun, Soul, Southern, and Vegetarian food dishes. This will be a ten-year commemoration and celebration of those who have survived one of the most catastrophic events in United States history.

The event is sponsored by the Universal Multi-Cultural Awareness Foundation, Inc. (UMCAF); and endorsed by the Offices of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Council President Herb Wesson, Jr., County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council (ECWANDC), and the Louisiana to Los Angeles Organizing Committee (LALA).

We hope that you are able to come out and join us in the day’s activities. The program will include testimonies from Katrina survivors, ten years later. The New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival is both a commemoration of those who have survived that tragic event; and a celebration of the life, times, and victorious struggles of those who have valiantly persevered. In the New Orleans tradition, even through the most difficult of times, our people say; “Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!”  Let the Good Times Roll!

Sincerely,

Ms. Sylvia Jones,
President/CEO, UMCAF, Inc.

--

Andrew Williams, Jr.  TRN International News

Mobile: +1-424-222-1997   Skype; andrew.williams.jr

Goodwill Ambassador
Twitter: AWilliamsJr     Facebook Business    Facebook Personal

One Earth, one humanity,and one crisis. Sept 21-25 2015. Join Prayers for Climate Action at the Lincoln Memorial

Join Prayers for Climate Action at theLincoln Memorial

Faith Events

Observe Yom Kippur 2015 at the Lincoln Memorial  Kol Nidre, 9/22 6:30pm to 8:30pm Morning Service with Yizkor, 9/23 10am to 1:30pm Minchah/Neilah, 9/23 5:00pm to 7:45 pm, concluding with shofar blasts

RSVP   for Yom Kippur 2015

Multi-faith Vigil at the Lincoln Memorial 9/23 7:00pm to 9/24 7:00am The Franciscan Action Network will be leading an all-night, multi-faith vigil at the Lincoln Memorial because, as Pope Francis and so many others have pointed out, there's one Earth, one humanity,and one crisis.

Open Letter to the Ministers of State and the Public Societies of Canada-US-Mexico

The Law of Exceptions

Open Letter to the Ministers of State

and the Public Societies of Canada-US-Mexico

NAFTA and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

October 27, 2011

Greetings.  Today the ancient arc of pilgrimage of the Nations and Pueblos of the Indigenous Peoples of Anahuac, Turtle Island and Abya Yala [the Americas] purposefully intersects once more with the trajectory of the government states whom you represent on our continent.  Today the traditional representatives of the Wixarika Nation bring the case of the Defense of Wirikuta, sacred heart of Mexico, to the fore of the national, international and global agenda of discussions on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Rights of Mother Earth.  As Nican Tlacah, we are on a pilgrimage of purpose to generate the collective understanding necessary among all human society for the sacredness of life itself to be lived, to be celebrated, and to be protected in the homelands and sacred shrines of the Indigenous Peoples.

Today in Mexico City, and at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico a petition demanding respect and protection for the sacred sites of the Wirikuta is being delivered to the Mexican and Canadian governments. We here-now, Nican Tlacah Izkalotecah, extend our solidarity and commitment to rectify the historical and social injustices that have created the immoral and illegal complicity among corporate interests and government officials who should be defending the common good and not acting as agents of corporate profits. 

Context

Within the provisions of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among your governments, each nation-state reserved the right to deny investors rights or preferences provided to “aboriginal peoples”, “socially or economically disadvantaged minorities”, or “socially or economically disadvantaged groups” in from two to five designated areas.  These provisions of exception are cited in Annex II, as follows:

·       “Canada reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure denying investors of another Party and their investments, or service providers of another Party, any rights or preferences provided to aboriginal peoples,”

·       “The United States reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure according rights or preferences to socially or economically disadvantaged minorities, including corporations organized under the laws of the State of Alaska in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act,”

·       “Mexico reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure according rights or preferences to socially or economically disadvantaged groups,”

In reference to these provisions of exception of NAFTA, professor Valerie J. Phillips correctly stated, “All three nation-states remembered indigenous peoples, but only long enough to put them in their place. All of these exemptions simply continue the ongoing nation-state subordination and marginalization of indigenous peoples.”

The terms subordination and marginalization are only the skin of the beast.  The actual process which has been ongoing since October 12, 1492 is genocide and colonialism, implemented via trade agreements and economic development policies that favor the process of colonization by European American “white” elites continentally and their corporate accomplices.  The Niña, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, the Mayflower: the NAFTA and the NARCO.

The invasion of Turtle Island Abya Yala continues, yet our resistance, as Indigenous Peoples is also unbroken.  We resist and rebel, we regenerate and call out once more today for rectification and clarity, purpose and solidarity as children of the Nations and Pueblos of Mother Earth.

Clarifications:

From the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly September 13, 2007:

Article 32


States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.


It is evident that the of lack of processes and accountability for violations of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for Indigenous Peoples is a fatal flaw not only the consultations which led to the NAFTA as a regional commercial compact, but for the actual ongoing implementation of the agreement.  The case of Wirikuta in Mexico is mirrored in the crisis of the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada and Mt. Tenabo in Nevada as well as scores of other development projects impacting Indigenous Nations across North America including the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. The violation of the right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent extends across the entire spectrum of economic development programs that are promoted and protected with preferential policies by the governments of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) regime.

The violations of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent is systemic under the neoliberal policies of these states, as is their complicity in the criminal exploitation and expropriation of the natural resources and labor of our Nations and Pueblos.  This is a grave foreign policy issue of crisis that must be addressed under the standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007.

Focusing in on the US context of the issues, Anthony Bothwell, remarks that the European taking of America involved “the most extensive land fraud and the largest holocaust in world history”.  He argues persuasively that, within the United States, the Supreme Court distorted international “laws” or doctrines regarding conquest and discovery to “rationalize white supremacist usurpation of Indian nation sovereignty, even while conceding that the great injustice may have violated international law principles”.  Bothwell goes even further than the mere analysis of then-existing international laws to assert that the taking of America violated binding treaties, the law of nations as recognized in the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Supremacy, Commerce, Takings, Contracts, and Fifth Amendment Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

Yet, in spite of these assessments and predictions of the Master’s Narrative, today the Wixarica speak to the World once more from the ceremonial ground of Mexico in pilgrimage of purpose and clarification. The Cuachichilcameh Izkalotecah respond and relay the following message, once more:

Continental Proclamation

Abya Yala

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Fifth Period of Sessions  May 15- 26, 2006

United Nations   NY, NY

Recalling the memory, will and spirit of our ancestors of time immemorial, they who gave origination to we the Indigenous Nations of the Continent Abya Yala,

Reclaiming the power of destiny as Peoples of Humanity,

In safeguard of the Rights of the Future Generations of our Nations of Indigenous Peoples,

Invoking the ancestral mandates of our Continental Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor, and the respective pronunciations ratified in Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples in Quito, Ecuador 2004, and in Mar de Plata, Argentina 2005,

WE HEREBY PROCLAIM

Presenting ourselves as Nations of the Indigenous Peoples of our continent Abya Yala before this Fifth Period of Sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations, and upon being received as such by the convoking authorities on the floor of the General Assembly,

That the Papal Bull Inter Caetera of Pope Alexander VI (1493) is hereby ANNULLED, as well as whatever Doctrine of Discovery proceeding from which that pretends to deform the relationship of Harmony, Justice, and Peace of we the Indigenous Peoples of Humanity in its entirety.

May 18, 2006

CONCLUSION

We call upon the ministers of government at all levels of Canada-US-Mexico and the public constituencies of their respective societies to address without prejudice or discrimination the above clarifications. We assert that these clarifications command rectification of the crime of colonialism and a moratorium on all NAFTA economic development projects impacting the territories of the Nations and Pueblos of Indigenous Peoples until the right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Indigenous Peoples is fully recognized, respected, and protected in the spirit of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as follows:

“Affirming that Indigenous Peoples are equal to all other peoples,…..”

NAHUACALLI

Embassy of Indigenous Peoples

www.nahuacalli.org

Boston. 100 Resilient Cities. May 19, 2015

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=20127

Mayor Walsh and the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities Host "KickOff" Workshop Marking Beginning of City's Participation in Innovative Global Urban Resilience Initiative

Workshop Brings Together Key Stakeholders to Develop City's "Roadmap to Resilience"; Hiring of Chief Resilience Officer Will Ensure Strategy Responds to Overarching Issues Facing Boston

| 

For Immediate Release May 19, 2015 Released By: Mayor's Office

For More Information Contact: Mayor's Press Office 617.635.4461

BOSTON – Tuesday, May 19, 2015 – Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) - pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation - to kick off the process of developing a comprehensive resilience strategy that will enable the city to better survive, adapt and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks it experiences. The workshop brought together local officials and civic leaders, as well as engineers, architects, economists, faith leaders, academics and urban planners from around the city to participate in discussions on shared priorities and the essential elements for our preparedness plans.

“Thanks to 100 Resilient Cities and The Rockefeller Foundation, Boston has a real opportunity to address lingering social and economic impacts of our history,” said Mayor Walsh. “This workshop is a first step towards creating a tremendous resource and will move Boston towards a stronger, more resilient future.”

Boston’s initiative includes a unique focus on social resilience. Forty years after the busing crisis, Boston remains a city affected by divisions of race and class that undermine community cohesion. Gaps in health, educational and economic outcomes are evidence of how these fissures weaken resilience. The goal of the 100RC Initiative is to find ways to infuse the principles of resilience into all aspects of local planning, ensuring the city's ability to weather and recover from the physical, social and economic crises that are increasingly prevalent in the 21st century.

In the months following today’s workshop, the city will continue to engage those stakeholders, resilience experts and 100RC staff in drafting the plan. As part of the process, Mayor Walsh is seeking applicants for the position of Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO) for the City of Boston to ensure Boston's resilience strategy incorporates and responds to the overarching issues facing Boston, including racial and socio-economic inequity, the lack of affordable housing, unemployment and underemployment, violence, climate change, flooding and terrorism. The position is funded through 100RC.

The CRO will report directly to the Mayor and will support the development of a resilience strategy and policy discussion in the city that includes an assessment of our social resilience opportunities and challenges. The CRO will also work with external stakeholders towards a shared vision on economic development, transportation, housing, climate change and the arts. Boston residency is required for this position. Interested applicants can apply at the City of Boston’s website: http://www.cityofboston.gov/ohr/careercenter/

In December 2014, Mayor Walsh announced that Boston had been selected as one of 35 cities from around the world to join the 100RC Network, which supplies its member cities with tools, funding, technical expertise and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century. 

“City governments are on the front line of dealing with acute shocks and chronic stress,” said The Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin. “Boston is part of a group of cities leading the way on resilience to better prepare for, withstand, and recover more effectively when disruption hits. Through this type of inclusive resilience planning cities can be better prepared for the unexpected. T hey can also realize the resilience dividend, the economic and competitive advantages that come from taking a resilience mindset. Boston’s commitment to resilience thinking, planning and action will set a global example.”

“Boston is helping fuel global momentum around building urban resilience, and leading by example,” said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities.  “The agenda workshop will clarify the city’s needs, surface innovative thinking, and give us a blueprint for engaging partners from across sectors to bring Boston the tools and resources needed to become more resilient.” 

About 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation:

100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation -- is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. 100RC supports the adoption and incorporation of a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day-to-day or cyclical basis. Examples of these stresses include high unemployment; an overtaxed or inefficient public transportation system; endemic violence; or chronic food and water shortages. By addressing both the shocks and the stresses, a city can better respond to adverse events and is more capable of delivering basic functions in good time and bad, to all populations.

The 100 Resilient Cities Challenge was launched in 2013 as a $100 million commitment to build urban resilience. Officials or leaders or major institutions from over 700 cities have applied to the Challenge. The first cohort of 32 cities was announced in December 2013, and 100RC announced their second cohort of 35 cities in December 2014. Information on the Challenge itself is available at www.100resilientcities.org/challenge. 

An FAQ can be found at: http://www.100resilientcities.org/pages/100RC-FAQ#/-_/

Media Contact for 100 Resilient Cities: Maxwell Young – Myoung@100RC.org

Olympics Summer Games in Caribbean, or African Union member nations. Just a dream.

Just a dream.

Selection of Haiti, or an African Union member nation as Summer Olympic host games. Imagine the physical infrastructure, jobs, business development that could take place in a country such as Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, Benin, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, or any other nation in need of renewal, and revitalization.

A dream and imagination can make it possible.

CDS. CEO. BLACK EMERGENCY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

Community Stakeholder and Corporate Responsibility. U.S EPA requires California companies to improve oil spill prevention plans

How are spills and environmental concerns planned for in your communities?

BEMA


For Immediate Release: August 5, 2015

Media Contact: Soledad Calvino, calvino.maria@epa.gov, 415-972-3512

U.S EPA requires California companies to improve oil spill prevention plans

Safety-Kleen Systems in Newark and Cargill Corporation in Fullerton fined $135,000 

LOS ANGELES – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the resolution of a series of settlements under the Clean Water Act with Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., in Newark, Calif., and Cargill Corporation, in Fullerton, Calif., for violations of federal oil pollution prevention regulations. Safety-Kleen will pay a $90,000 penalty and Cargill will pay a $45,000 penalty to resolve the violations at their facilities.

“All companies who store oil must comply with federal standards. Facilities are required to prevent spills and be prepared to respond to a worst case oil discharge emergency," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Preventing spills and protecting our waterways from oil spills is essential.”

Safety-Kleen, a waste oil recycler in Newark, Calif., violated the Clean Water Act’s Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules by failing to provide secondary containment around an oil storage area; failing to secure and control access to oil handling, processing and storage areas; failing to use safe containers and good engineering practices, including liquid level alarms, to avoid discharges; and failing to develop a complete Facility Response Plan.

Cargill Corporation, which operates a vegetable oil terminal and packaging facility in Fullerton, Calif., violated EPA’s oil pollution prevention regulations by failing to update and recertify its SPCC plan for its Fullerton facility; failing to provide adequate oil containment and drainage controls; failing to ensure that the secondary containment walls of the East Tank Farm could contain spilled oil; and failing to remove accumulations of oil outside tanks and piping, transfer areas and process area collection trenches.

EPA also recently settled with four smaller California companies for violations of the oil pollution prevention regulations at their sites. The four companies are:

Antioch Building Materials
The Pittsburg, Calif. company was fined $2,775 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan, implement tank inspection and integrity testing programs, and provide documentation of employee training.

JC Greasebuyers
The Riverside, Calif. company was fined $2,400 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan, for storing oil in improper storage containers and for failing to implement a tank integrity testing program to prevent releases.

Gemsa Oil
The La Mirada, Calif. company was fined $2,250 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan and have adequate secondary containment for vegetable oil storage tanks.

SoCal Pumping
The Riverside, Calif. company was fined $1,900 for failing to provide a proper SPCC plan, and complete inspection records, The facility also lacked an adequate tank integrity testing program and proper oil drum secondary containment.
EPA’s proposed Clean Water Act settlements for the Cargill and Safety-Kleen cases are subject to a 30 day public comment period and approval by the Regional Judicial Officer and are available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-cargill.html 

and 

http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-safety-kleen.html

The goal of EPA’s SPCC regulation is to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, and to contain and respond to discharges of oil. The regulation requires onshore oil storage facilities to develop and implement SPCC Plans and establishes procedures, methods, and equipment requirements to prevent spills, and to respond properly if a spill occurs.

For more information on SPCC, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations

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Public Health Education and Training. Core Competencies. Medical Reserve Corps.

Medical Reserve Corps

https://www.mrc.train.org/DesktopShell.aspx?tabId=94

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals: Introduction  

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals: Introduction   

The Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies) are a consensus set of skills for the broad practice of public health, as defined by the 10 Essential Public Health Services. Developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, the Core Competencies reflect foundational skills desirable for professionals engaging in the practice, education, and research of public health. The Core Competencies support workforce development within public health and can serve as a starting point for public health professionals and organizations as they work to better understand and meet workforce development needs.

Organization of the Core Competencies

The Core Competencies are organized into eight domains, reflecting skill areas within public health, and three tiers, representing career stages for public health professionals.

Domains

The Core Competencies are divided into eight domains, or topical areas of knowledge and skill:

1. Analytical/Assessment Skills
2. Policy Development/Program Planning Skills
3. Communication Skills
4. Cultural Competency Skills
5. Community Dimensions of Practice Skills
6. Public Health Sciences Skills
7. Financial Planning and Management Skills
8. Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills

Tiers

• Tier 1 – Front Line Staff/Entry Level. Tier 1 competencies apply to public health professionals who carry out the day-to-day tasks of public health organizations and are not in management positions. Responsibilities of these professionals may include data collection and analysis, fieldwork, program planning, outreach, communications, customer service, and program support.
• Tier 2 – Program Management/Supervisory Level. Tier 2 competencies apply to public health professionals in program management or supervisory roles. Responsibilities of these professionals may include developing, implementing, and evaluating programs; supervising staff; establishing and maintaining community partnerships; managing timelines and work plans; making policy recommendations; and providing technical expertise.
• Tier 3 – Senior Management/Executive Level. Tier 3 competencies apply to public health professionals at a senior management level and to leaders of public health organizations. These professionals typically have staff who report to them and may be responsible for overseeing major programs or operations of the organization, setting a strategy and vision for the organization, creating a culture of quality within the organization, and working with the community to improve health.

The organization of the Core Competencies into three tiers provides guidance in identifying appropriate competencies for public health professionals. In general, competencies progress from lower to higher levels of skill complexity both within each domain in a given tier and across the tiers.  Public health organizations are encouraged to interpret and adapt the Core Competencies in ways that meet their specific organizational needs.

Online Training. August 13, 2015 Building Healthy Communities.

Every community can be a healthy community.

GovLoop Training

Building Healthy Communities

Hi , The truth is where you live, work, and play affects your health, now more than ever. Health and human service organizations are increasingly using geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize and understand data about the populations they serve. New Online Training: Building Healthy Communities Join us on Thursday, August 13th from 2-3PM ET/ 11AM - Noon PT to discover how Esri’s ArcGIS platform empowers communities to improve the health and wellbeing of all residents. Register Now! Helping you build healthy communities, Team GovLoop