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Government shutdown could exacerbate a dangerous winter for those in need
Michelle R. Matisons Civil & GovernmentThe need to remain warm in winter is so patently obvious that we almost forget about it as we put on extra layers, go outside early to prepare the car, and center plans around the warmest times of day. Survival for many in winter is already hampered by freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. A number of additional obstacles, ranging from homelessness, poverty, and the government shutdown, undermine people’s basic efforts to stay warm and alive in a season not even halfway over yet.
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What dairy pros need to know about the USMCA
Ted Jacoby Food & BeverageThe wait is (kind of) over. Trade authorities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada have agreed to a trilateral free trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. The finer points of automotive manufacturing earned most of the headlines during the protracted negotiation period, but dairy trade was another key sticking point. Here, we hope to offer some details and context to provide a clearer picture of how things will look once the deal is effective. Or, more like if. The deal first must survive legislative review in three separate national capitals.
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Airports encouraged to invest in anti-drone measures before the threats…
Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & AutomotiveFollowing the drone attacks at London Gatwick airport in December and the crippling closure of the airport to air traffic at one of the busiest periods of the year for air travel, airports are being encouraged to invest in developing measures to counter the threat before it can develop. The actions taken at Gatwick from Dec. 19-21 (and briefly at Heathrow on Jan. 8) followed the standard response when a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle enters the control zone of an active airport. The potentially catastrophic result of a collision between an aircraft and drone poses an unimaginable threat. In the case of Gatwick, it uncovered just how open airports are to this kind of attack and how ill-equipped they are to countering such an attack.
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Why the Los Angeles teachers’ strike matters
Patrick Gleeson EducationThe Los Angeles teachers’ strike brings home some uncomfortable truths about American education. The outcome of this particular teachers’ strike may influence, even determine, the course of U.S. primary and secondary education for years to come. Many Americans have a clichéd understanding of underperforming and underfinanced American schools — of why certain states have underperforming schools, of the connection between inadequate teacher salaries and student underperformance and, importantly, of the political environments that produce those outcomes. Like many clichés, this is at least partly true, but the reality is more nuanced.
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How the partial government shutdown affects federal contractors and the…
Seth Sandronsky Civil & GovernmentAs the partial government shutdown drags on, federal contractors are living without paychecks. Further, they face the prospect of receiving no back pay when the stalemate ends, Sunny Blaylock opined in USA Today. David J. Berteau is president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, a trade group that represents federal contractors. On Jan. 8, he wrote an open letter to President Trump, noting "hundreds of thousands of employees support the government through contracts" and deserve pay for their labor.
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How ready is your capture?
Lisa Pafe Civil & GovernmentAssessing the quality of a capture effort is a difficult task. Any assessment is simply a snapshot in time; your capture could get better… or it could get worse. A capture readiness assessment should look at the snapshot, but also look at trends. Using our 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), you can analyze where your capture effort is today, identify areas for improvement, and then chart whether your capture trends upward in readiness for the win.
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The real reason to wait to draw your Social Security
Patrick Gleeson Civil & GovernmentGo to the web with the question: "When should I begin drawing my Social Security benefits?" If you were uncertain of the answer before you began reading, you may be more confused afterward. You’ll learn that in 2019 you can begin drawing "reduced" SS benefits at age 62, but that you can receive your "full benefit" at 65 — which is true or not true, depending on what you mean by "full" — and that your benefit amount keeps increasing every year you wait to begin drawing benefits until you’re 70, which is true.
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New spotlight cast on Florida’s felon voting rights amendment
Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityIn last year's elections, the Florida GOP's choice for governor, Ron DeSantis, narrowly defeated Democratic contender Andrew Gillum, disappointing those seeking widespread progressive change in a state with notorious effects from climate change, police brutality, and election fraud politics. Despite the triumph in the governor’s race for conservatives, Amendment 4, a felon voting rights law, was passed by two-thirds of voters. Its passage means over 1.4 million people can now register to vote in a move that substantially delinks citizenship from criminal records. This is part of the larger national prison reform effort to correct mass incarceration’s multigenerational damages.
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Portland, Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary: Smart growth or a stranglehold…
Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building MaterialsWhen it is not being sent up for its bike karaoke and ironic mustaches, Portland, Oregon, is being held up as the city that threw out the rule book for conventional city growth patterns in the U.S. It is distinctly more walkable, bike-able and compact than other cities in the country and has become the poster child of "smart growth" in the U.S. Some of that is down to a not particularly glamorous land use policy introduced in the 1970s that essentially drew a circle around the city to stop sprawl in its tracks, and to reflect development back toward the downtown area.
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A look at 2 new institutions dedicated to civil rights in the Deep South
Dave G. Houser Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementThis year’s 34th annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday on Jan. 21 draws attention to a pair of sobering new civil rights institutions in America’s Deep South. For example, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, "Wants to make you uncomfortable," says Director Jacqueline K. Drace. Housed in a downtown complex that’s also home to the new Museum of Mississippi History, the institution, opened in December 2017, delves with surprising honesty into the disturbing truth about the state’s racist past.
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