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FDA tries a new approach with guidance on opioid use disorder medications

Dr. Abimbola Farinde Pharmaceutical

In the United States, the opioid epidemic is recognized as a growing public health crisis that has been identified across all levels of socioeconomic status. Within the last 16 years, it is reported that more than 183,000 Americans have died as a result of prescription opioid overdoses. Members of the medical community and government officials have been attempting to develop strategies to curtail the rise of addictions and deaths related to the crisis. Recently, a new approach has been adopted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Urban design gone wrong: Parks

Lucy Wallwork Facilities & Grounds

Ever since someone described parks as the "lungs of the city," cities have been competing to declare themselves as "green" by allocating space for public parks in urban redevelopment initiatives. This race to boost the percentage of green space for city brochures is typical of this age of "competitive cities." In many ways it is welcome — parks have even been shown to not only make us healthier but even make us smarter. But parks should not be judged on quantity, but quality.

How the ‘gig economy’ is changing employment

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Workplaces are changing. Take the "gig economy," for example. How will it be affected by a recent California Supreme Court ruling on self-employed independent contractors and company employees? "The ruling may bring some much-needed clarity to the new world of work," said author and entrepreneur Marion McGovern. Key issues of employer control and direction of independent contractors and employees that the Golden State’s high court ruled on can and should lead "to more transparency in the law," which she views as a positive step forward.

Senators seek greater funding for FCC’s rural telemedicine efforts

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

The Washington machine is churning, and it wants more money from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the Rural Health Care Program. More than $400 million is earmarked for the effort now, but 31 U.S. senators want the FCC to increase that annual cap to bolster funding for rural communities to support telemedicine. Advocates of telemedicine are likely over the moon at the possibility of even more federal support for the effort.

Hunting, fishing opportunities to expand at National Wildlife Refuges

John McAdams Recreation & Leisure

In another bit of good news for hunters and anglers, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke just announced plans to expand hunting and fishing opportunities at dozens of National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) all over the United States. If all goes as planned, these changes would open or increase outdoor recreation opportunities on over 248,000 acres of land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in time for the 2018-19 hunting season.

Diverse partnerships between first responders grow in popularity

Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Officers in full tactical gear take defensive positions and carry out coordinated exercises during a drill, including emergency scenarios like a shooter-hostage incident or mass-casualty situations. This was the scene recently as several South Florida law enforcement agencies took part in an emergency training session. Called Heat Shield 2, the new training exercise trained first responders on the latest tools and techniques. The exercises test regional agency coordination, and response and rescue efforts.

California’s new home construction law embraces solar power

Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & Environmental

The year 2020 marks a sunny turn for solar enthusiasts in California. That is the year that solar panels are required for all newly constructed single-family homes and small multifamily apartment-style buildings of three stories or less. When the California Energy Commission recently voted unanimously to make solar panels mandatory for these construction projects, the room was packed to capacity. But there was little debate that this is a good idea.

GIS-savvy surveyors muster political will to lobby at multiple levels of…

Bill Becken Construction & Building Materials

Surveying is daytime work — especially if it invokes today’s remarkable high-tech geospatial mapping and navigational tools, known collectively as geographic information systems (GIS). Nighttime or off-hours duties aren’t usually associated with it. Yet those are exactly what many land surveyors have shouldered lately — as members of one or more of their professional associations — as they attempt to cogently address the legislative and political issues facing the profession.

Fee increases set for national parks entry

Dave G. Houser Recreation & Leisure

First, the bad news: visitors to national parks will soon face increased entrance fees for the most popular parks in the country. The good news is that the price hikes are substantially less than proposed last fall by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Fee increases ranging from $3 to $10 will be implemented by June 1 for many parks and by 2019 or 2020 for other sites. The changes impact a total of 117 national parks — zeroing in the most heavily visited preserves.

New Ebola outbreak spreads to large urban area in DRC

Joan Spitrey Healthcare Administration

On May 8, the Ministry of Health and Population of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced a new Ebola outbreak had begun after two cases were confirmed by laboratory test. By May 13, there were already 41 cases, including 20 deaths and three healthcare workers affected. Despite earlier identification and attempts at containment, one new case of Ebola has been confirmed in Wangata, one of the three health zones of Mbandaka, a city of nearly 1.2 million people on a major river.

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