“I join with the men and women of the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes in the feelings of senseless loss and profound sadness. The Barnestormers are a close knit group and are like part of the family of all of us in the greater Westfield area. When any part of that family is lost all of us mourn. My most sincere condolences to the pilot’s family, his co-workers, and fellow warriors. In war and in peace it is still a dangerous job that few do as well, or as proudly and professionally, as the members of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. God bless them all. Rest in Peace.”
Friday, August 29, 2014
State Senator Don Humason Statement on Fallen Pilot
Governor Deval Patrick Statement on Fallen Pilot
“This is a very sad day for the Guard and for Massachusetts. Throughout the last couple of days, as we learned the circumstances of this accident, we held out hope that the pilot would be found and returned safely to his family. Our prayers and condolences are with his family, the Wing Command and all the Members of the Massachusetts National Guard.”
NEW COMMANDER
08/29/2014 08:11 AM CDT
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, passes the U.S. Special Operations Command flag to incoming commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel III during a change-of-command ceremony in Tampa, Fla., Aug. 28, 2014. Votel assumed command from Navy Adm. William H. McRaven
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Thursday, August 28, 2014
California State Assembly Passes Plastic Bag Bill
This afternoon the California State Assembly passed SB 270 (Padilla–D), a bill coauthored by Assemblymember Dababneh (D-Encino) to prohibit single-use plastic bags. This measure is now headed to the Senate before the Sunday, August 31st legislative deadline.
-Sacramento-
Each year in California, more than 13 billion single-use plastic bags are handed out by retailers yet only 3% are recycled according to California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Before Los Angeles County disallowed the use of single-use plastic bags upwards of six billion plastic bags were being used in LA County alone, totaling 600 bags per person per year. Since the start of this year, the use of plastic bags has dramatically decreased; this measure has worked in LA County to reduce pollution and will work across the state.
"This bill is a historic step forward not just for California but also an example for a more sustainable world. I thank Assemblymember Dababneh for his effort to get this passed," said Angela Sun who is the award-winning filmmaker and journalist behind the documentary, Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Upon passage of SB 270 Assemblymember Dababneh addressed the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags by noting, "Plastic bags cause litter, harm wildlife and endanger the environment, they jam machinery at recycling centers costing California millions dollars each year. Passage of this bill will not only reduce pollution and waste but encourage the use of recyclable grocery bags which is important for all our communities."
Talking about the need for streamlining regulation and providing clarity for businesses, Dababneh continued, "There are currently 142 different regulations around the state that deal with plastic bags. In LA County, we have already adopted the ban on single-use plastic bags. SB 270 will provide a standard and easily understood directive that will increase efficiency and predictability for businesses throughout California and that is why it garnered the support of labor organizations, the business community and environmental groups."
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Matt Dababneh represents the 45th Assembly District that includes the communities of Bell Canyon, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Hidden Hills, Northridge, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills. Please visit the Assemblymember's website, www.assembly.ca.gov/a45, for more information.
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Iran and the P5+1: Getting to “Yes”
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW BRIEFING
November's deadline could be the last chance to avoid a breakdown in the Iran and the P5+1 nuclear talks. Compromise on Iran's enrichment capacity is key to ending the impasse, requiring both sides to walk back from maximalist positions and focus on realistic solutions.
Despite significant headway in negotiations over the past six months, Iran and the P5+1 (U.S., UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) remain far apart on fundamental issues. In its latest briefing, Iran and the P5+1: Getting to "Yes", the International Crisis Group argues that both sides have forgotten the lessons that brought them this far. They have wrongly assumed that desperation for a deal would soften their rival's bottom line and compel it to ignore its domestic political constraints. The result is a dangerous game of brinkmanship that, if continued, will yield only failure. Though there is little room for error and no time to waste, a workable compromise is still possible. The briefing builds on Crisis Group's 40-point plan for a nuclear accord detailed in May, explores a half year of talks, investigates the new realities facing negotiators and offers an innovative way out of the impasse.
The briefing's major findings and recommendations are:- Iran and the P5+1 should find common ground by reverse-engineering political concerns underlying their technical differences. For Iran, this means a meaningful enrichment program; continued scientific advancement; and tangible sanctions relief. For the P5+1, this requires a firewall between Iran's civilian and potential military nuclear capabilities; ironclad monitoring mechanisms; and sufficient time and cooperation to build trust.
- Iran should accept more quantitative constraints on the number of its centrifuges and postpone plans for industrial-scale enrichment. In return, the P5+1 should accept the continuation of qualitative growth of Tehran's enrichment capacity through research and development.
- Iran should commit to using Russian-supplied nuclear fuel for the Bushehr reactor for its entire lifetime, in return for stronger Russian guarantees of supply and enhanced P5+1 nuclear cooperation, especially on nuclear fuel fabrication. This would gradually prepare Tehran to assume responsibility for a possible additional plant, or plants, by the end of the agreement, in eleven to sixteen years.
- An accord should be based on realistic, substantive milestones such as the time the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needs to investigate Iran's past nuclear activities to determine the duration of the final agreement's several phases rather than subjective ones dictated by political calendars.
"Neither side's arguments bear scrutiny in the debate over the number of centrifuges, because the roots of their differences are fundamentally political", says Ali Vaez, Iran Senior Analyst. "Negotiators are both driven and constrained by their respective domestic politics, especially the U.S. and Iran, where powerful constituencies remain skeptical of the negotiations and have the leverage to derail them".
"The moment of truth for Iran and the P5+1 has arrived. Should it be lost, it is unlikely to soon reappear", says Robert Blecher, Acting Middle East Program Director. "The parties could allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good and watch the best opportunity to resolve this crisis devolve into a mutually harmful spiral of escalation. Or they could choose wisely".
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MISSILE MISSION
08/28/2014 08:10 PM CDT
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Zachary Swisher, left, and Lance Cpl. Cornelio Vasquez carry a container of GTR-18 missiles, also known as "Smokey Sams," away from an MV-22B Osprey during a threat-reaction exercise on an island near Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 26, 2014. The exercise enables pilots to stay up to date on their qualifications while keeping an alert mindset for arising combat scenarios. Swisher and Vasquez are ordnancemen assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron 152.
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HOWITZER HOWL
08/28/2014 07:51 PM CDT
U.S. soldiers fire a round down range from their M777A2 howitzer on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2014. The soldiers are assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The round was part of a shoot to register, or zero, the howitzers, which had just arrived on the airfield from Forward Operating Base Pasab
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Former Secretary-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft of Union Treasury Funds
USDOJ: Justice News
Former Secretary-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft of Union Treasury Funds
The former Secretary-Treasurer of Security Police Fire Professionals of America Local 287 pleaded guilty today to theft from a labor organization in violation of his fiduciary responsibilities as a union officer.
Votel Takes Charge of Special Operations Command
By Claudette RouloDoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today presided over the U.S. Special Operations Command change of command ceremony in Tampa, Florida, where Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel III assumed command from Navy Adm. William H. McRaven. McRaven, who's served as the command's chief since Aug. 8, 2011, has been named as the next chancellor of the University of Texas. Votel most recently served as commander of Joint Special Operations Command. A full account of McRaven's career has yet to be written, Hagel said in his prepared remarks. "When it is, it will have to be heavily redacted," he joked. "But his legacy in the special operations community is already secure. He is a warrior-leader that generations of special operators from across the branches of service will strive to emulate," Hagel said. Career milestones McRaven has been deeply intertwined with the history of special operations in this country, the defense secretary said. "He helped establish and was in the first graduating class of the Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict curriculum at the Naval Postgraduate School," Hagel said of McRaven. "He literally wrote the book on special operations -- I'm told that his graduate school thesis at one point outranked even Clausewitz on Amazon's list of military strategy bestsellers. "As the commander for special operations in Europe, he was the driving force behind the creation of the NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre," the defense secretary continued, "and under his leadership, the Joint Special Operations Command carried out perhaps the most important mission in their history -- hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden." Socom's transition McRaven led the special operations community as it transitioned from the era of post-9/11 conflicts and into confronting the next generation of dynamic, dispersed, and networked challenges, Hagel said. "Special operators have long been the vanguard of our military's global engagement, epitomizing the kind of far-reaching work that our military will be called upon to do in the future," the defense secretary said. "What special operators do every day not only helps make America safer, it also directly contradicts the uninformed and false narrative that the United States is pulling back from the world," Hagel said. Special operations forces deployed into more than 150 countries under McRaven's command, he noted. "In fact, Socom and the entire U.S. military are more engaged internationally than ever before -- in more places and with a wider variety of missions," the defense secretary added. Special operations missions under McRaven included delivering life-saving relief after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, Hagel said. "They helped Peruvian forces successfully target two senior members of the Shining Path rebel group. They're working with African partners to help counter the terrorist activities of Boko Haram," he said. In Iraq, special operations forces are helping strengthen Iraqi security forces in their fight against terrorist forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the defense secretary noted. "And in Eastern Europe, they are reinforcing NATO allies in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine," he said. A more agile force During his time in command, McRaven organized Socom's forces to be more agile, flexible and responsive, Hagel said. "He has better integrated Socom with the geographic combatant commands, and issued the first-ever Global Campaign Plan for Special Operations," he said. "He has deepened our relationships abroad, working more closely with allies and partners to better anticipate and counter threats. "As a testament to the growing demand for special operators," the defense secretary continued, "Socom has grown by almost 8,000 people over the past three years -- and its growth will continue even as other parts of our military draw down.". Repeated deployments have dealt the special operations community a heavy burden, Hagel said, but McRaven and his wife Georgeann have worked tirelessly to help alleviate some of the strain. "[McRaven] established initiatives to address the physical and mental well-being of his force, offer support to family members, and provide more predictability on deployments. He modified Socom's definition of readiness to include families as a vital part of the equation, something the entire Department of Defense can learn from," he said. And Georgeann has been a consistent advocate for special operations families, personally supporting many of these important initiatives, the defense secretary said. "The McRavens live by the [special operations] community's saying ... 'Our people are more important than our hardware,'" Hagel added. Incoming commander Votel is a worthy successor to McRaven, the defense secretary said. "[His] quiet, decisive leadership -- combining both operational and strategic expertise -- is precisely what this command will need as we confront the next generation of threats to our national security," Hagel said. Both men know that an institution is only as strong as its people, Hagel said before thanking the special operations community for their sacrifices, particularly over the past 13 years. "Your skill, your agility and your dedication are what make you so often the force of choice for our highest priority missions," the defense secretary said. "And a special thank-you to your families, who make untold sacrifices and never get the amount of recognition and appreciation they deserve." "In a complicated and combustible world, this community is a precious national asset," Hagel said. "All Americans are inspired by your strength, determination, and devotion to duty." (Follow Claudette Roulo on Twitter: @roulododnews) |
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EPA Improves Water Quality and Infrastructure in Arkansas
DALLAS – (Aug. 28, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $9,165,000 to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) for projects such as replacing sewer lines, improving wastewater treatment facilities, and upgrading collection systems. The grant is part of EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), a program that provides low-interest, flexible loans to municipalities and rural water districts.
For 25 years, the CWSRF has served as the nation's largest source of water-quality financing, helping communities improve water quality, protect aquatic wildlife, protect and restore drinking water sources, and preserving our waters for recreational use. In recent years, CWSRF programs have provided about $5 billion per year to fund projects for wastewater treatment, nonpoint source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management.
Over 40 years ago, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to protect rivers, lakes, bays, wetlands and coastal waters. Streams and wetlands benefit communities by trapping floodwaters, recharging groundwater supplies, removing pollution and providing habitats for fish and wildlife. Families and farms located downstream understand the importance of healthy headwaters upstream. One in three Americans get their drinking water from public systems that rely on seasonal and rain-dependent streams. EPA is taking public comment on a rule to help protect our Nation's waters. For more information please visit: www.epa.gov/uswaters.
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