Florida Supreme Court rules convicted felons must pay off fines before voting – CBS News
poll tax much?
Government Lawyer Says Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Response Plan ‘Does Not Exist’
October 30, 2018
…Early last month, Governor Ricardo Rosselló and other officials announced that their newly overhauled plan was finally complete.
…Days after Rosselló’s announcement, the head of the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency, Carlos Acevedo, told a committee of Puerto Rico’s Congress that, should a hurricane of similar magnitude strike, “we’re confident that our government’s response will be very different.”
…But on Tuesday afternoon, an attorney for Puerto Rico’s government admitted in a San Juan courtroom that, in fact, the island’s emergency management agency does not yet have a document outlining a hurricane-specific response plan.
…She said the government was still assessing proposals from private companies, “so that it can hire people who specialize in producing those types of emergency response plans. So, as of today they aren’t available. As of today, they don’t exist.”
…Calls to Puerto Rico’s governor’s office and to the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency were not immediately returned.
Government Lawyer Says Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Response Plan ‘Does Not Exist’ : NPR
whoa!
Puerto Rico emergency director fired after residents discover warehouse full of Hurricane Maria supplies
Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced fired the island’s emergency manager, hours after a warehouse filled with supplies was discovered.
…Carlos Acevedo, [the] director of Puerto Rico’s Office of Emergency Management, was dismissed Saturday. The governor appointed Maj. Gen. José J. Reyes, the adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard, to replace him.
Earlier on Saturday, numerous pallets of water and other boxes with emergency supplies were found at a warehouse in the earthquake ravaged city of Ponce.
…The emergency aid is believed to be from when Hurricane Maria hit the island two years ago, the governor said.
wonder how he got the job…
2018: Puerto Rico officials stockpiling radios, water, food as hurricane season nears
MAY 10, 2018
…Federal and local officials said Thursday they are stockpiling food, water, radios and generators in Puerto Rico. …Emergency plans have been changed to warn the island’s 3.3 million people that they need to have enough supplies to survive 10 days.
“After Maria, we learned that three days is not enough,” said Carlos Acevedo, interim commissioner of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency. “Now the minimum is 10 days … 10 days of supplies, 10 days of gasoline, 10 days of everything.”
He said satellite antennas have been installed and 100-watt radios distributed to police stations, emergency management centers, fire stations and hospitals so crews can still communicate in the event of a disaster.
Puerto Rico officials stockpiling radios, water, food as hurricane season nears – CBS News
hmmm
Puerto Rico governor creates “9/20 Committee” to improve protocols on counting disaster deaths
First published on November 2, 2018
…The report on the findings made various recommendations on issues including mortality surveillance and communication during natural disasters. They included establishing clear leadership of the Puerto Rico Department of Health when it comes to mortality surveillance, and improving efficiency regarding the flow of information to decision makers.
“This Committee will play a key role in the future of our island, as it will establish the appropriate protocols and guidelines so that we are better prepared in the face of a disaster such as Hurricane Maria,” Rosselló said.
The 19-person committee includes scholars from universities like Columbia and George Washington, as well as health officials from government agencies and health care groups. The committee members are:
…8. Carlos Acevedo – Director, Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency
hmm
IEM Spotlight: Carlos J. Ruiz Acevedo, PE Operations Manager, IEM Puerto Rico
What’s do you do for IEM Puerto Rico?
I was hired as the Operations Manager for IEM Puerto Rico supporting the R3 (Repair, Reconstruction, and Relocation) Program of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing using CDBG-DR funds. As Operations Manager, I am responsible for daily field operations and ensuring that they are performed in an efficient manner. I oversee logistics management, performance standards, safety policies, and procedures to ensure alignment with the program’s goals and objectives. I also direct human resources and management activities on the operational side of the program, to include staffing needed to accomplish operational tasks.
What led you to IEM and what do you like best about working with the IEM Team?
After working with FEMA for 13 months, I learned about HUD CBDG-DR funded programs, and as an engineer was interested in being part of this phase of the island’s reconstruction. I started searching for companies that were going to be part of CDBG-DR programs for open positions that fit my skillset and I found IEM.
I enjoy the IEM Team and the energy and effort that team member dedicate to each task assigned to them. Also, I like that the IEM team is pushing forward to make things happen so hurricane survivors, or applicants as they are called in the program, are able to move into their safer, more resilient homes as soon as possible.
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[Founder and] current President and CEO Ms. Madhu Beriwal …recognized a distinct need to integrate science and objectivity into decisions about public protection, moving preparedness from a subjective foundation to one based on quantitative data. That vision from more than 30 years ago built the company that today is helping government agencies and the private sector save lives. Since inception, IEM has expanded past disaster preparedness, response, and recovery to offer a range of services and solutions that also strengthen homeland defense, counterterrorism, and public agency performance.
IEM Spotlight: Carlos J. Ruiz Acevedo, PE Operations Manager, IEM Puerto Rico – IEM
hmmmm
Impeachment Watch: The Senate is now in charge, but we might be missing the larger story
New text messages released by Lev Parnas — an associate of Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani — suggest Trump’s former Ukraine ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, …was under some type of surveillance in Ukraine as Giuliani was acting directly on Trump’s behalf to get investigations into his political rival.
…The revelation directly contradicts previous White House claims that overtures made by Trump and his allies to Ukraine were about rooting out corruption and not furthering his 2020 prospects.
…When asked how he had the authority to make offers of support from the administration, which included Vice President Mike Pence attending Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration, Parnas said that’s what he “was told to do” by “Rudy Giuliani.”
…Be it impeachment or Iran, the public and Congress are increasingly cut off from being able to ask questions of their government. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo skipped a congressional hearing on Iran earlier this week and then the administration abruptly cancelled three more scheduled hearings, including one on embassy security.
On impeachment, the administration has tried to squash as much information as possible. Specifically on Yovanovitch and whether she was under surveillance and what they’re going to do about it, there has been no comment from the State Department.
hmmmmm
Bernie ‘will play dirty’: Ex-Vermont governor slams Sanders – POLITICO
Sanders’ campaign briefly distributed talking points for supporters to use door-to-door, saying that Warren supporters “are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what” and that “she’s bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party.”
And the day after Warren clashed with Sanders following a Democratic debate in Des Moines, #Warrenisasnake was among the hashtags trending on Twitter.
Shumlin accused Sanders of trying to “Hillarize” Warren, saying the senator had cast Hillary Clinton, too, as an elitist, contributing to divisions in the Democratic electorate.
…”His team feel they’re holier than the rest. In the end, they will play dirty because they think that they pass a purity test that Republicans and most Democrats don’t pass,” said Shumlin. [and Sander is not seen to be reigning them in.]
…[Shumlin is] accusing the senator [or at least his team] of trying to “Hillarize” Elizabeth Warren.
…[Shumlin also] warned that Sanders, an independent and a self-described democratic socialist, ultimately did not feel loyalty to Democrats.
..In 2016, Sanders drew criticism for initially not campaigning for the Democratic nominee in the general election race in Vermont. He did later cut an ad …[and] stumped for Democratic candidates across nine battleground states.
Bernie ‘will play dirty’: Ex-Vermont governor slams Sanders – POLITICO
hmmm
What The Sanders vs. Warren Battle Is Really About
Should progressive populism be wonky and detail-oriented and appeal to college-educated former Clinton voters? Or a more contentious outsider assault on the powers-that-be from the overlooked millions of the middle and lower-middle class?
…This salvo from Warren’s camp was seen as a response to reports that talking points for Sanders volunteers characterized Warren as the choice of “highly educated, more affluent people,” a demographic both key to Democratic electoral success and associated with Hillary Clinton’s supposed out-of-touch elitism.
…The other part of the controversial Sanders campaign talking points on Warren was that her supporters — the wealthy, well-educated ones — would already “show up and vote Democratic no matter what … she’s bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party.”
…Variations on this theme — Sanders as credible progressive curmudgeon and Warren as vaguely deceptive opportunist — popped up as I followed Sanders across the state.
What The Sanders vs. Warren Battle Is Really About | FiveThirtyEight
mmhmmm
Warren demands probe of whether Trump resort guests traded on Iran tip
Presidential contender Elizabeth Warren is demanding a federal investigation into whether President Donald Trump provided advance notice of the deadly strike on Iran’s Gen. Qasem Soleimani to stock traders who may have profited illegally from the tip.
…”It raises a number of troubling national security questions regarding President Trump’s handling of classified and other sensitive national security information.”
…Federal law bars trading stocks based on material, nonpublic information.
Warren demands probe of whether Trump resort guests traded on Iran tip
hmmm
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