Our Past: A Guide For Future California Water Storage

By Senator Mimi Walters

In the years following World War II, California industries grew exponentially, offering jobs and opportunity to a recovering nation. This growth, coupled with the beginning of the baby boom, led to a sudden spike in California's population. With industry growing rapidly in the south it became imperative to find local water sources, or import water from elsewhere. Ultimately, it was believed that water from the north would provide southern California with a reliable water source. With that, the California aqueduct was born and became the largest California water project to date.   The idea of the aqueduct came in 1951; it was created to ensure that people and industry could thrive throughout California. In 1963, the aqueduct was completed and was running at full capacity. It has been used to transport water from the north to the south for over fifty years without any significant technological improvements. Currently, the severity of California's drought has made the failure in updating the state's water infrastructure even more troubling. Failure to update our water infrastructure while our population and industries have grown and changed has forced an over-reliance on groundwater and our antiquated conveyance system.   A majority of water used in California during a drought is groundwater. Groundwater comes from aquifers located underneath the earth's surface which supply water to lakes and rivers. At the rate that groundwater is being utilized without replenishment, it is only a matter of time before it is consumed and Californians suffer the consequences.   During an average year groundwater may provide 40 percent of the water throughout California, but during a drought year the amount raises to as much as 60 percent. After 3 consecutive years of drought, groundwater sources are currently lacking proper storage and management. Without reserves, groundwater levels are shrinking faster than normal, and many groundwater (aquifer) levels are recorded as being 100 feet below previous lows, with no current source of replenishment.   California is the nation's leader in agricultural production and has been for over fifty years. With groundwater levels shrinking so rapidly, California's highly productive agricultural industry is in danger. In addition to diminished groundwater levels, California's second source of water - the Sierra snowpack - is dangerously low as well. As reported by the California Department of Water Resources, the snowpack is 18 percent of average for this time of year. The overuse, or overdraft, of California's groundwater and the low snowpack have only exacerbated drought conditions, leading to the real need for a sustainable groundwater management plan today.   If the drought endures and groundwater continues to diminish at current rates of usage, devastating job loss will continue. Throughout California's history water has been the state's lifeblood, but now there is no water to transport to the Southland and resources are depleting at a rate that is unsustainable. Now the overdraft of groundwater will hurt California residents and ecosystems, ensuring that California's economy will suffer while the drought continues. With 15,000 jobs lost, over 800,000 acres of farming land fallow, and more than $2.7 billion dollars in crop loss, that is a cost we simply cannot afford.

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Chart of the Week: Auto Production at Its Highest Rate Since 2002

August 21, 2014 at 11:42 AM EDT

The American auto industry remains a cornerstone of our economy -- a key source of our ability to export, innovate, and create jobs. During the economic turmoil of the Great Recession, the auto sector shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, and production dropped to the lowest level recorded in data going back to the 1960s. In 2009, President Obama took decisive action to rescue the industry from imminent collapse, saving more than 1 million jobs across the country.

Now, our auto industry is once again a source of economic strength, with more and more of the world's top-of-the-line, fuel-efficient vehicles being made by American workers in American factories. In fact, the number of cars coming off our assembly lines just reached its highest level in 12 years.

Check out how fast the American auto industry has bounced back under President Obama -- then share this chart with everyone who needs to see this progress:

As this chart shows, the number of vehicles built on American assembly lines since 2000 rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 13.2 million vehicles in July. The increase in auto production mirrors the growing strength of America's manufacturing sector, which has added more than 700,000 jobs since early 2010.

Building on this progress, President Obama is committed to taking further steps to boost American manufacturing. That's why he's using his pen and his phone to take action and spur more jobs and investment in U.S. manufacturing by:

• Launching four more manufacturing innovation institutes this year
• Expanding SelectUSA to compete for job-creating investment in the United States
• Boost job-driven training by investing $500 million to expand apprenticeships and strengthen community colleges

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President Obama: James Foley's Life "Stands in Stark Contrast to His Killers"

August 20, 2014 at 02:16 PM EDT

Watch on YouTube

This afternoon, the President made a statementon the killing of journalist James Foley by the terrorist group ISIL. He was 40 years old.

"The entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley," President Obama said. "Jim was a journalist, a son, a brother, and a friend. He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away."

Foley was taken hostage in Syria almost two years ago while reporting on the conflict there. The President made clear in today's statement that Foley's life "stands in stark contrast to his killers":

[ISIL has] rampaged across cities and villages -- killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence.  They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery.  They have murdered Muslims -- both Sunni and Shia -- by the thousands.  They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion.  They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.

So ISIL speaks for no religion.  Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents.  No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day.  ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings.  Their ideology is bankrupt.  They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.

"People like this ultimately fail," the President said. "They fail, because the future is won by those who build and not destroy and the world is shaped by people like Jim Foley, and the overwhelming majority of humanity who are appalled by those who killed him."

President Barack Obama speaks about the killing of American journalist James Foley by the terrorist group ISIL, during a statement in Edgartown, Mass., Aug. 20, 2014.

The President also reiterated that the U.S. will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the American people.

"We will be vigilant and we will be relentless," he said. "When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what's necessary to see that justice is done.  And we act against ISIL, standing alongside others."

The people of Iraq, who with our support are taking the fight to ISIL, must continue coming together to expel these terrorists from their communities.  The people of Syria, whose story Jim Foley told, do not deserve to live under the shadow of a tyrant or terrorists.  They have our support in their pursuit of a future rooted in dignity.

From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread.  There has to be a clear rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies.  One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.

Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday.  And we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism, and replace it with a sense of hope and civility.

"That's what Jim Foley stood for," President Obama said. "A man who lived his work; who courageously told the stories of his fellow human beings; who was liked and loved by friends and family."

Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim.  All of us feel the ache of his absence.  All of us mourn his loss.  We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families.  We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.

May God bless and keep Jim's memory, and may God bless the United States of America.

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Attorney General Holder: "The Eyes of the Nation and the World Are Watching Ferguson Right Now"

August 21, 2014 at 06:01 PM EDT

Attorney General Eric Holder meets with local residents and community leaders of Ferguson, Missouri at Drake's Place Restaurant.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder traveled to Ferguson, Missouri yesterday to review the Justice Department's independent investigation into the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. While there, the Attorney General met with community leaders, FBI investigators, and federal prosecutors to get detailed briefings on the status of the case.

"I've been kept up to date," he said, "but there's nothing that can replace actually coming to the office that's handling the matter, and being able to look in the face the people who are, I think at this point, very ably handling this investigation."

Following the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, the city of Ferguson has captured countless headlines. Across the country -- and around the world -- people are watching as the Ferguson community continues to grapple with this tragedy.

"The eyes of the nation and the world are watching Ferguson right now," the Attorney General said yesterday at the Florissant Valley Campus of St. Louis Community College. "The world is watching because the issues raised by the shooting of Michael Brown predate this incident. This is something that has a history to it, and the history simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson."

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"This is something that has a history to it, and the history simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson."

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Attorney General Eric Holder meets with students at the Florissant Valley Community College in North St. Louis.

At the community college, Attorney General Holder also talked with some local youth and discussed their concerns about interacting with the police. Even as the nation's chief law enforcement officer, the Attorney General said that he understands their mistrust, recalling some of his past run-ins with the police and the lasting impact of those experiences:

I understand that mistrust. I am the Attorney General of the United States. But I am also a black man. I can remember being stopped on the New Jersey turnpike on two occasions and accused of speeding. Pulled over…"Let me search your car"…Go through the trunk of my car, look under the seats and all this kind of stuff. I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me.

I think about my time in Georgetown – a nice neighborhood of Washington – and I am running to a picture movie at about 8 o'clock at night. I am running with my cousin. Police car comes driving up, flashes his lights, yells "Where you going? Hold it!" I say "Whoa, I'm going to a movie." Now my cousin started mouthing off. I'm like, "This is not where we want to go. Keep quiet." I'm angry and upset. We negotiate the whole thing and we walk to our movie. At the time that he stopped me, I was a federal prosecutor. I wasn't a kid. I was a federal prosecutor. I worked at the United States Department of Justice. So I've confronted this myself.

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"I am the Attorney General of the United States. But I am also a black man."

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After having lunch with local residents and community leaders in Ferguson, Attorney General Holder stopped by the St. Louis FBI field office to get briefed more on the details of the federal investigation.

In remarks at the field office, he detailed that the federal investigation is "looking for violations of federal, criminal civil rights statutes," which is different from the local investigation.

We have brought a substantial number of people here, of agents here, who have done a great job in the canvassing that they did over the past weekend, and continue to follow leads so that we can do a thorough and a fair job of making a determination about what happened on August 9. And I'm confident that through the ability of these people, we will be able to make a determination about whether or not any federal statutes have in fact been violated.

He also expressed his hope that his trip would "have a calming influence on the area, if people know that a federal, thorough investigation is being done" -- and that it would "give people some degree of confidence that the appropriate things are being done by their federal government."

Attorney General Eric Holder receives a briefing at the local FBI headquarters on the ongoing independent civil rights investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown.

Michael Brown's death has spurred critical dialogue about race, but the Attorney General emphasized that these conversations are only a starting point on the path to bringing about lasting change in America:

We need concrete action to change things in this country. That's what I have been trying to do. That's what the President has been trying to do. We have a very active Civil Rights Division. I am proud of what these men and women have done. As they write about the legacy of the Obama administration, a lot of it is going to be about what the Civil Rights Division has done.

So this interaction must occur. This dialogue is important. But it can't simply be that we have a conversation that begins based on what happens on August 9, and ends sometime in December, and nothing happens. As I was just telling these young people, change is possible. The same kid who got stopped on the New Jersey freeway is now the Attorney General of the United States. This country is capable of change. But change doesn't happen by itself.

So let's start here. Let's do the work today.

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Galileo Has Started Its Operational Deployment Phase

Galileo liftoff

22 August 2014

The next pair of Galileo satellites, Galileo 5 and 6, has been successfully delivered into orbit today. This launch marks the start of a new phase in the European satellite navigation programme where the full constellation will be deployed with short intervals between launches. 

Galileo 5-6 satellites were carried aloft on a Soyuz rocket from the CSG, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 12:27 GMT (14:27 CEST, 09:27 local time) on 22 August. All the stages of the Soyuz vehicle performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit close to 23 500 km altitude, 3 hours 47 minutes after liftoff.

On completion of the initial checks, run jointly by ESA and the French space agency CNES, the two satellites will be handed over to the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and the Galileo in-orbit Testing facility in Redu, Belgium for testing before they are commissioned for operational service in the autumn.

Galileo FOC satellite

Following the successful qualification of the system during the In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase, achieved with four satellites launched in 2011 and 2012, the Galileo satellites are being produced and readied for the launch pad in series.

The deployment of the constellation will now gather pace, with six to eight satellites launched per year using a series of Soyuz and Ariane launches from the CSG, along with finalisation of the remaining elements of the ground network. 

The final constellation will consist of 24 satellites expected to be ready in 2017 and complemented by six in-orbit spares.

Galileo satellites released into orbit

About Galileo

Galileo is Europe's own global satellite navigation system. It will consist of 30 satellites and their ground infrastructure.

The definition, development and In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase were carried out by ESA, and co-funded by ESA and the European Commission. This phase has created a mini-constellation of four satellites and a reduced ground segment dedicated to validating the overall concept.

30-satellite Galileo constellation

The four satellites launched during the IOV phase form the core of the constellation that will then be extended to reach Full Operational Capability (FOC).

The FOC phase is fully funded by the European Commission. The Commission and ESA have signed a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission.

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Deputy Defense Secretary Meets With Japanese Leaders

By Cheryl Pellerin

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

TOKYO, Aug. 22, 2014 - Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work today met with Japanese government leaders here to discuss efforts to modernize the U.S.-Japan alliance, review progress on realigning U.S. forces in Japan, and to discuss bilateral efforts to enhance alliance force posture and capabilities.

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work meets with Japanese defense and government leaders in Tokyo, Aug. 22, 2014. Work and the Japanese leaders discussed efforts to modernize the U.S.-Japan alliance, progress made on realigning U.S. forces in Japan, and continuing efforts to enhance the U.S.-Japan alliance's force posture and capabilities. Work also met with Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Defense Ryota Takeda. After the meeting, the two leaders spoke with reporters at the ministry of defense. DoD photo by Cheryl Pellerin  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Work met with Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Defense Ryota Takeda and Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi. He also met with service component commanders and U.S. service members.

Tomorrow morning, Work is slated for a breakfast meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and a tour aboard the USS Shiloh, a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser on station at Yokosuka Naval Base, before heading back to Washington.

Work's Aug. 17-23 trip to Hawaii, Guam, South Korea and Japan was his first official visit to the Asia-Pacific region.

After their meeting this afternoon, Work and Takeda held a joint press conference to discuss major efforts underway to improve the alliance and its contributions to the region.

Work and the Japanese ministers discussed efforts to modernize the U.S.-Japan Alliance through the revision of the Guidelines for Defense Cooperation; progress on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, particularly in Okinawa; and bilateral efforts to enhance alliance force posture and capabilities.

They also discussed the regional security environment, including the importance of deterring North Korean provocations by enhancing trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea and increasing bilateral Ballistic Missile Defense cooperation. On this, the Ministers highlighted progress on deploying a second TPY-2 BMD radar system to Japan by the end of this year.

Work strongly welcomed Japan's recent decision on Collective Self-Defense, which, when implemented, will enable a substantive revision to the bilateral Defense Guidelines and allow the Japan Self-Defense Forces to increase their role in the alliance and contribute more to regional and global security.

At the press conference, Work began his remarks with a personal message for the people of Japan.

"I want to express my deepest condolences and those of the American people to the families who lost their loved ones in the mudslide in Hiroshima," he said of the rain-triggered mud flows that have killed more than 35 people, according to news reports. Many more people remain missing.

"Our thoughts go out to all those who have been impacted by this awful tragedy," Work added.

The deputy defense secretary said he and Takeda agree that the U.S.-Japan alliance is strong. Work added that it is a cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and a critical part of the U.S. rebalance to the region.

"The Asia-Pacific rebalance, and particularly our alliances and partnerships in the region," Work said, "are the highest priority" for President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

During the visits Work completed this week to Guam and South Korea, he said he saw first-hand the significant progress made to bolster U.S. force posture in the region.

In Guam, he also saw Japanese-funded projects that are helping the United States build infrastructure there to ease the relocation of Marines from Okinawa, and to continue to transform the island into an important strategic hub for the Asia-Pacific.

"In my meeting with Vice Minister Takeda," Work said, "I emphasized the central role Japan plays in our rebalance and the significant progress we have made to transform our alliance and realign U.S. forces in Japan so together we can more effectively address emerging security challenges."

One effort critical to U.S. plans to build a more balanced and effective alliance, the deputy secretary said, is for Japan to revise its bilateral defense guidelines.

Work strongly welcomed Japan's recent cabinet decision permitting collective self-defense, adding that this should enable "an ambitious and substantive revision to the guidelines that allow Japan to play a larger role in our alliance and contribute more to regional and global security."

The U.S. government welcomes the collective self-defense initiative started by the government of Japan, Work said. From the U.S. perspective, the rebalance to Asia is all about creating a safe, secure and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.

"The fact that the collective self-defense [initiative] has been debated and approved here in japan, leading to a relook at the guidelines, is what we believe will really provide security for the region for a long time," he added.

"As I told the vice minister," Work said, "I think 10 years from now people will look back to this very time and say this was one of the signature things that allowed peace and prosperity and a secure Asia-Pacific region to grow and thrive."

The leaders also discussed progress made in realigning U.S. forces in Japan so the United States can establish a force posture that is geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politically sustainable over the long term.

"I was undersecretary of the Navy between 2009 and 2013, and we had many challenges moving forward on the Futenma replacement facility," Work said in response to a question.

"As I come into this job as the deputy secretary, I'm very excited and gratified at the progress that has been made," he said. "The signing of the environmental impact statement, the signing of the landfill agreement and the recent starting of boring in the bay up near Honoka all are signs of tangible progress.

"Closely linked to that is the Marine buildup on Guam, which would allow us to relocate Marines off Okinawa," Work continued. "Having related to the Futenma replacement facility and having just come from Guam, I can tell you that the momentum of construction and the move there is really starting to pick up. Overall, I'm extremely enthusiastic about the direction of things."

Over the next several years, Work said, the United States will deploy to Japan several advanced capabilities to enhance the alliance's posture and maintain regional deterrence, including the first overseas deployment of the Marine Corps' F-35 fighter aircraft in 2017.

He also reported rapid progress in building the second TPY-2 radar site, which should be completed by the end of the year.

"We appreciate Japan's strong support and close coordination during this process," Work added.

TPY-2 stands for transportable radar surveillance and control model 2. This, according to the Missile Defense Agency, is a transportable, X-band, high-resolution, phased-array radar designed for ballistic missile defense. The TPY-2 can track all classes of ballistic missiles and identify small objects at long distances.

"The U.S. Navy is moving forward with plans to deploy two more ballistic missile defense ships to Yokosuka by 2017," Work said, "greatly enhancing our alliance and capability."

The deputy defense secretary said Japan has a new arms-export policy and that its legislature has passed a secrets protection act that should enhance defense industrial cooperation with the United States and other partner nations, especially Australia.

"This will lead to lower costs, better capabilities and enhanced operational cooperation that will promote security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Work said the United States appreciates Japan's role as a contributor to peace and prosperity in the important Northeast Asia region and in the rest of the world, and the United States is steadfast in its commitment to Japan's security.

Work added, "There's another alliance that we very much value, and that is the alliance with South Korea."

Both alliances help maintain peace and security in Northeast Asia and throughout the region, he said.

"The more we can exchange information among our three countries, the better it is for both of our alliances and for peace and prosperity in the region," the deputy secretary explained.

"So we welcome all different types of ways to further this trilateral discussion," Work said, "and we think ballistic missile defense is a very good place to start because of the common threat that we face, specifically from North Korea."

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NASA's Infrared Data Shows Newborn Tropical Storm Marie Came Together

NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared data on Aug. 21 at 20:05 UTC of Tropical Storm Marie's cloud top temperatures as it came together off of Mexico's southwestern coast.

Image Credit: 

NASA JPL, Ed Olsen

Powerful thunderstorms in newborn Tropical Storm Marie were seen stretching toward the top of the troposphere in infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Marie on Aug. 21 at 20:05 UTC when it was still classified as a low pressure area. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard Aqua read cloud top temperatures in the storm, and showed cloud tops as cold as -63F/-52C around the storm's center and in bands of thunderstorms east and south of the center. AIRS data showed that Marie is located in very warm waters with surface temperatures near 30 Celsius (85 Fahrenheit), which will assist the storm in development and intensification. Sea surface temperatures of at least 26.6C (80F) are needed to maintain a tropical cyclone, while warmer sea surface temperatures can help in evaporation and thunderstorm development.

NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured Tropical Storm Karina (left), Tropical Storm Lowell (center) and Tropical Storm Marie (right) in an infrared image on Aug. 22 at 5 a.m. EDT as they moved through the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Credit:

Image Credit: 

NASA/NOAA's GOES Project

Marie came together off of Mexico's southwestern coast at 11 p.m. EDT on August 21 consolidating into Tropical Depression 13-E. By 5 a.m. EDT on August 22, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Marie.

Marie's maximum sustained winds increased to near 45 mph (75 kph) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects rapid intensification. In fact, forecasters expect Marie to become a hurricane late in the day on August 22 and reach major hurricane status (Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale) by Monday, August 25.

At 5 a.m. EDT, August 22, the center of Tropical Storm Marie was located near latitude 12.8 north and longitude 101.0 west.  Marie is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 kph) and is expected to slow as it intensifies. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 millibars.

The NHC noted that satellite microwave data showed that Marie has a well-defined low-level ring, which can often be a precursor to rapid intensification if environmental conditions are favorable. 

Text credit:  Rob Gutro

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Back Shell Tile Panels Installed on NASA's Orion Spacecraft

08/22/2014 12:00 PM EDT

Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians dressed in clean-room suits have installed a back shell tile panel onto the Orion crew module and are checking the fit next to the middle back shell tile panel. Preparations are underway for Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, parachute system and launch abort system. > Engineers and Technicians Install Protective Shell on NASA's Orion Spacecraft Image Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

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Obama Administration Approves NCLB Flexibility Extension Requests for Ohio and Michigan

AUGUST 22, 2014

The Obama administration announced today that Ohio and Michigan have received a one-year extension for flexibility from certain provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

"America's schools and classrooms are undergoing some of the largest changes in decades – changes that will help prepare our students with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that tomorrow's economy will require," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "This extension will allow the states to continue the critical work of implementing the bold reforms they developed to improve achievement for all students."

ESEA has been due for Congressional reauthorization since 2007. In the absence of reauthorization, President Obama announced in September 2011 that the administration would grant waivers from parts of the law to qualified states, in exchange for state-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity and improve the quality of instruction. The one-year extension of ESEA flexibility allows the states to continue moving forward on the ambitious work they began with their initial flexibility requests.

Since fall 2011, Ohio and Michigan have implemented education reforms that go far beyond the Elementary and Secondary Education Act's rigid, top-down requirements. Examples of that work include:

Michigan:

• Through Michigan's statewide system of support (MI Excel), priority and focus schools are provided with an array of supports, including district and/or school improvement facilitators. These facilitators are trained, prepared and employed to engage in dialogues that help schools and districts to focus on targeted interventions tied to their greatest needs.
• In order to promote a cohesive approach to whole school turnaround in School Improvement Grant (SIG) and non-SIG priority schools, The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has captured improvement information in an online platform that all of these schools use. With this approach, MDE has experienced increased alignment among these schools each year.

Ohio:

• The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) creatively engaged parents, students and families in the reforms it is implementing through a guided communication strategy that included direct, in-person outreach at the Ohio State Fair.
• ODE has a robust monitoring tool that enables it to engage in comprehensive, electronic monitoring for each of its more than 900 school districts. Other states have recognized the usefulness of ODE's monitoring tool and ODE has shared it with twelve other states via a memorandum of understanding.

In order to receive an extension, states must demonstrate that they have resolved any state-specific issues and next steps as a result of the Department's monitoring, as well as any other outstanding issues related to ESEA flexibility. States could also request additional amendments to support their continuous improvement efforts. The extension is through the 2014-2015 school year. The Department is reviewing requests from states for one-year extensions to ESEA flexibility on a rolling basis and anticipates approving additional extension requests over the next several weeks.

Forty-three states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico currently have ESEA flexibility, 35 of which expire this summer. Of those, 32 submitted an extension request. Twenty states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin have been granted extensions since July 3.

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America's Great Outdoors

Photos from America's public lands. A project of the U.S. Department of the Interior. www.doi.gov

Monday is the National Park Service 98th birthday & all entrance fees will be waived. Please share and like this photo of Denali National Park to spread the word! 

Photo: Morton Katz (www.sharetheexperience.org)

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