WFTND Blog Information

An emergency manager trying to make a difference.

The name of the blog comes from a conversation with my daughter, where she told me that I was always looking to help people be prepared for the inevitable emergencies in life.

I started this blog as a place to assemble all the information that I was getting every day and to share my thoughts and ideas on emergency management.

I had no idea how much of the blog would wind up being what's in the news. While it does not take a lot to add a blog entry, I just did not realize how much of my day was involved with simply keeping up with what's going on. All of the posts, whether what's in the news or comments or just a piece of information, have a purpose; to get us thinking, to get us talking, and to make things better - in other words, to make a difference.

Hopefully this blog will save you some time and energy, or help you in some other way. If you would like to see something, please let me know.

Posting an article does not imply that I agree with the comments in the article. In fact, in many case, I do not agree, but feel that the comments should be part of the discussion. All opinions are welcome. I only ask that you remain considerate and professional of other opinions.

CLICK ON "MY WEB PAGE" ON THE WFTND BLOG PROFILE PAGE FOR MY LINKEDIN PUBLIC PROFILE

Favorite Quotes for the Emergency Manager

  • “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • “Failing to plan is planning to fail”
  • “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.” Denis Waitley
  • "Station 51, KMG365."
  • “One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” Arnold H. Glasgow
  • “An ostrich with its head in the sand is just as blind to opportunity as to disaster”
  • “The powers in charge keep us in a perpetual state of fear keep us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.” Douglas MacArthur
  • “My ideas have undergone a process of emergence by emergency. When they are needed badly enough, they are accepted.” Buckminster Fuller
  • “Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part”
  • "If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, ..." Rudyard Kipling
  • "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley

Saturday, January 31, 2009

CQ POLITICS: Senate Homeland Committee Adds Panel to Investigate Federal Contracting

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is creating a new subcommittee to examine a half-trillion dollars a year in federal contracts.

The new Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight will be chaired by Claire McCaskill , D-Mo., and paid for in part with the increased funding allotted to Senate Democrats because of their enlarged margin in the 111th Congress.

Announcing the subcommittee in a news release Thursday, Committee Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman , I-Conn., said federal contract management is one of the greatest operational challenges facing the government and an area consistently ranked at high risk of waste, fraud and abuse by the Government Accountability Office.

CNN: New homeland security chief dives right in

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In her first full week as the nation's homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano got a full dose of the job's diverse responsibilities -- responding to ice storms in the Midwest, dealing with Congress on budget matters and scrutinizing security plans for the Super Bowl.

AP: Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spots

MARION, Ky. (AP) — In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way — with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow.

At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. And with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.

On Friday, one county put it bluntly: It can't.

SEATTLEPI.COM: Obama declares the state a disaster zone, opening aid

President Barack Obama declared the state of Washington a major disaster zone Friday, citing large-scale flooding and windstorms that occurred earlier this month.

That means counties, organizations and residents will be eligible for federal funding to aid with the costly cleanup, estimated earlier this month to be in the $125 million range. Federal assistance will supplement state and county efforts already under way.

The declaration, announced by the Office of the White House Press Secretary Friday afternoon, came weeks after harsh weather wreaked havoc over several Western Washington counties, closing Interstate 5 for days and putting some small towns underwater.

Federal aid will be extended to King, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties.

URGENT COMMUNICATIONS: Spanos out as New York SWN program director

Less than two weeks after the state of New York terminated its $2 billion contract with Tyco Electronics M/A-COM to build and maintain a statewide wireless network (SWN) for public safety, SWN program director Jonathan Spanos no longer is working for the state.

“We have started restructuring the SWN program office, and [Spanos] no longer being with us is a result of that,” said Angela Liotta, spokeswoman for the New York’s office for technology (OFT), who said the state would not comment on the details of personnel matters.

YAHOO/AP: Storm-struck KY calls up entire Army Nat'l Guard

MURRAY, Ky. – Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has called up all of his Army National Guard troop and some Air National Guard units to get the state back on its feet following a crippling ice storm.

The addition of 3,000 soldiers and airmen makes 4,600 Guardsmen pressed into service. It's the largest call-up in state history.

More than 400,000 people remain without power in Kentucky five days after the storm hit. Many others still lack electricity in other states from the Midwest into Appalachia.

The storm is suspected in at least 42 deaths across several states. Authorities say it could be weeks before some areas get power back.

LEBANON DAILY NEWS: Officials at odds over EMA report

Two-to-1 votes on the Lebanon County Board of Commissioners aren’t unusual. But when they happen, Republicans Larry Stohler and Bill Carpenter are usually on the same side against Democrat Jo Ellen Litz.

That’s not the way things worked out yesterday when Carpenter and Litz teamed up to nix an Emergency Management Agency policy change pushed by Stohler.

The issue revolved around a hazardous-materials response-preparedness report the county EMA prepared for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Approval of the report, which is overdue, was tabled after Stohler raised some questions about it and asked for changes.

MLIVE/ANN ARBOR NEWS: County officials hope new director will ease concerns

The Livingston County Board of Commissioners hopes to end some of the criticisms of the county's 911/Emergency Management Department with the appointment of Donald Arbic as its new director, effective April 1.

Arbic, appointed by last week, will succeed Dick Winsett, who will retire at the end of March. It marks a promotion for Arbic, who currently serves as the central dispatch operations director. Arbic's duties will include overseeing operation of the county's 911 central dispatch service, which has been a sore point with area police chiefs.

AMHERST BULLETIN: Amid charges, Fleury resigns Pelham police chief's post

Police Chief Edward Fleury has resigned from his job, almost three months after an 8-year-old boy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a weapons expo co-sponsored by the chief's company, COP Firearms & Training.

GCN: Shawn McCarthy | 16 rules for using social media networks

Government workers, like the rest of the world, have found their way onto social networking and microblogging sites, particularly Twitter. The growing government presence on these sites is both a benefit for citizens and a concern for multiple levels of government managers.

In light of this, here are some do's and don'ts for government employees and their supervisors as they explore the world of social networking.

VICKSBURG POST: City won't take part in evacuation drill

Participation in drills simulating evacuations from Grand Gulf Nuclear Station will not include Vicksburg personnel and resources until the state reimburses the city’s training costs as is done for Warren County, Mayor Laurence Leyens said Thursday.

The city is demanding the state pay $1,940 per day for the Vicksburg Fire Department to join in a medical and decontamination drill scheduled in March, according to a letter sent to Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Womack. Copies were sent to local officials, including Warren County Emergency Management Director Gwen Coleman.

Further, the letter from Vicksburg Emergency Management Agency Director Anna Booth states, annual costs for sending 120 Vicksburg firefighters to annual refresher courses such as the upcoming drill total $20,000 and should also be reimbursed.

NWA: WalMart Helps Out

Wal-Mart is definitely no stranger to dealing with natural disasters, but this latest storm hits close to home.

"These are our friends; these are our neighbors,” says Bryan Coon, Operations Manager for the Emergency Management Department.

But in order to help their neighbors, Emergency Management Department workers had a small problem to overcome: Getting to work.

THE REVIEW: Courthouse drill a success

LISBON - An armed intruder who entered the Columbiana County Courthouse to test the security system told fellow drill participants he had no place to go, thanks to the lockdown procedures.

"The drill served its purpose," Commissioner Penny Traina said Friday, although she admitted there were some minor issues to correct. "We would not have known what they were without the drill."

ADFERO GROUP HOMELAND SECURITY: The Best Investment in Homeland Security

Following the 9/11 and Anthrax attacks, we as a nation were forced to make a number of investments that were not on any of our national shopping lists. We made drastic improvements to our aviation security; initiated new biological surveillance capabilities and countermeasures; upgraded first responder equipment and interoperability; overhauled the missions of the FBI and US intelligence agencies, and made countless other high-tech expenditures. Nearly eight years after those events, the incoming Obama Administration, Congress, media and taxpayers are asking, “What are we getting for our money?”

FEMA: FEMA Coordinates Federal Assistance After Winter Weather Impacts The Central United States

Release Date: January 30, 2009
Release Number: FNF-09-003

The winter storm that recently swept through much of the country produced significant snow, sleet and ice that caused major power outages after trees and power lines were damaged.

Federal efforts throughout the affected areas include:

HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Lessons from Ike help move Houston forward

If Hurricane Ike was a learning opportunity, this is what the city of Houston learned: Don’t rely too much on the state. Pinpoint where elderly and sick people live before the storm hits. Buy more generators — lots more. And more fuel to run them.

The city conducted a daylong dissection of its Ike response Thursday, going over “lessons learned” and strategies that worked well.

LIVINGSTON DAILY: 911: Police trying power grab

The director of the Livingston County 911/Central Dispatch and Emergency Management Department says there's an underlying force in the recently reported rift between his department and local law enforcement.

Dick Winsett, in his first extended interview about the issue, told the Daily Press & Argus that the Livingston County Sheriff's Department wants to regain control of Emergency Management, which left the department in 1993."I think so," Winsett said when asked if he felt the Sheriff's Department was trying to pull a "power grab." "(Sheriff Bob Bezotte) would like to have the Emergency Management program. It started off there."

Bezotte doesn't deny he wants the program back, but he did refute the claim that it was a power grab."It's not a power play, it's accountability," Bezotte said. "That's what it comes down to."

WIRED MAGAZINE: Thwarting Disaster: Bridges That Can Withstand Anything

President Obama has promised the largest investment in infrastructure since the creation of the Interstate Highway System. For America's bridges, it's about damn time: Nature, age, and faulty designs are beginning to take a toll (see above: Minneapolis, 2007). Luckily for commuters and trolls, engineers around the world are figuring out how to build smarter spans that can shrug off disaster. Here are three new approaches.

YAHOO/REUTERS: Over 600,000 still without power in Midwest

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 600,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Friday morning after snow and ice storms earlier this week left more than 1.5 million customers in the dark from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania, local utilities reported.

YAHOO/AP: AP Exclusive: Bad peanuts found before outbreak

WASHINGTON – Weeks before the earliest signs of a national salmonella outbreak that now has been traced to peanuts from a Georgia processing plant, peanuts exported by the same company were found to be contaminated and were returned to the United States, The Associated Press has learned.

The rejected shipment — coming over the U.S. border across a bridge between New York and Canada — was logged by the Food and Drug Administration but never was tested by federal inspectors, according to the government's own records.

USA TODAY: Deadly icy blast snuffs power, strands travelers

Snow and ice that slammed the country from Texas to Maine knocked out power to a million households, disrupted hundreds of flights and forced Kentucky state troopers to use four-wheelers to find stranded residents.

Ice ranging from thin layers to 2-inch slabs glazed a huge swath of the country, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service. The storm was blamed in 23 deaths, according to the Associated Press.

LA TIMES: Delay in switch to digital TV is delayed

Reporting from Washington -- The move to delay next month's nationwide transition to all-digital broadcast television stalled Wednesday in the House, but supporters expected the measure to pass as soon as next week.

A fast-tracked bill to delay the switch until June 12 failed to get the two-thirds majority required for an expedited vote after it passed the Senate on a unanimous voice vote Monday.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Disaster Preparedness for Persons with Chronic Disease

FROM THE WEBSITE: If you are currently managing life with a chronic disease or if you know someone who is, you know how difficult it can be under the best of circumstances. Now, imagine what it would be like if your community was struck with misfortune and disaster. What would you eat? What would you drink? What would happen if you were without your medications?

With a little bit of preparation, you could manage, or teach someone to manage, a chronic disease in a crisis situation. You just need to know how to prepare.

If you are currently managing a chronic disease and would like to learn how to prepare for a disaster, please order or download our Patient Resource Manual.

If you wish to help people in your community prepare, please order on “kit” or download our Participant Manual and our Patient Resource Manual.

NOTE: The website has been added to the "Emergency Management on the Internet" section on the right side of this blog.

BUCKS LOCAL NEWS: Bucks County Emergency Management Agency to migrate 'CAN' to ReadyNotifyPA

The Board of Bucks County Commissioners, in conjunction with the county Emergency Services Division/Emergency Management Agency (EMA), are committed to providing the most comprehensive notification possible in the event of a storm, widespread power outage, water emergency or other public-safety threatening condition.

To that end, the EMA will discontinue use of its Community Alert Network (CAN) in favor of the wider-reaching, more cost-effective ReadyNotifyPA, effective Feb. 1. ReadyNotifyPA is a system that helps local officials in Southeastern Pennsylvania to send emergency text alerts and other important notifications to you quickly. This shift will allow the public to maximize its ability to receive timely, critical updates via land line, cell phone and e-mail. The county has migrated CAN registrants over to ReadyNotifyPA, but urges Bucks Countians to register for the system so that up-to-date contact information can be confirmed and saved in the system.

FIREHOUSE: Response Questioned in Atlanta Blaze

Atlanta officials acknowledged Tuesday a severe shortage in 911 operators contributed to delays in responding to a fire that destroyed a Grant Park home Saturday night.

Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation FIRST EDITION

Hosted on the Health Physics Society website.

DisasterPrepped.com

FROM THE WEBSITE: DisasterPrepped.com is a new website that focuses exclusively on emergency preparedness and disaster solutions for organizations, families, municipalities, companies, etc. The site consists of two sections:

(1) Articles (below) specifically addressing topics relating to disasters, preparedness, and emergencies; and
(2) Links (at left) to preparedness & disaster solutions in 15 subcategories such as Rescue, Kids & Schools, Evacuations, Biohazards & Terrorism, Floods, Fires, etc.

New articles will be added in the future on a monthly basis. New preparedness solutions will be included based on both reader suggestions and the ongoing research of the DisasterPrepped.com staff. If you would like to make any comments or suggestions, please see the
Contact Us section below. We seek to make DisasterPrepped.com the most valuable resource for your preparedness needs & questions.

NOTE: The website has been added to the "Emergency Management Information on the Internet" section on the right side of this blog. WFTND has no financial interest in this website.

DREAMIS website

FROM THE WEBSITE: Dreamis (Disaster Reconstruction and Mitigation Information System) is a global information system that supports and facilitates all stages of financing related to disaster mitigation and response by collecting and analysing information and data from past disasters. It serves as a global hub for sharing knowledge relating to disaster mitigation and recovery financing.

NOTE: The website is also listed in the "Emergency Management Information on the Internet" section on the right side of this blog.

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY: What Seabrook, Texas, CIO Learned From Hurricane Ike

After taking the job as IT manager of Seabrook, Texas, shortly before the 2008 hurricane season started, George Szakacs discovered what it truly means to keep yourself and your data above water.

NTA: Report: Massive Hezbollah Terror Attack Against Israeli Target In Europe Thwarted

A massive terror attack against an Israeli target in Europe has been thwarted in recent weeks, Channel 2 quoted security officials as saying Wednesday.

The attack, linked to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, was foiled thanks to intelligence sharing between Israel and an undisclosed European country.

Israeli officials believe that as the one year anniversary of the February 14 assassination of Hezbollah second-in-command Imad Mughniyeh approaches, attempts to attack Israeli targets around the world will intensify.

NTA: Colorado Man Charged In Threat on Obama, Mall of America

A 20-year-old southwestern Colorado man has been indicted on charges of threatening to kill President Obama and blow up the Mall of America in Bloomington.

Timothy Ryan Gutierrez, of Cortez, was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Denver. A warrant has been issued for Gutierrez’s arrest, and authorities declined to discuss his whereabouts.

He faces one count each of transmission of threats and falsely threatening to use explosives.

YAHOO/AP: Alaskans brace for Redoubt Volcano eruption

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Hardware stores and auto parts shops scored a post-holiday run of business this week as Anchorage-area residents stocked up on protective eyewear and masks ahead of a possible eruption of Mount Redoubt.

Monitoring earthquakes underneath the 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory warned that an eruption was imminent, sending experienced Alaskans shopping for protection against a dusty shower of volcanic ash that could descend on south-central Alaska.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

JOURNAL-NEWS: Councilman interested in Butler EMA position

Middletown Councilman Bill Becker has submitted his resume to be the Butler County Emergency Management Agency.

Becker confirmed Tuesday, Jan. 27, that he has contacted the Butler County Commission of his interest in the position.

Becker, who was elected as an at-large member of council in 2007, has also served as Middletown's police chief and city manager.

EMA Director Bill Turner submitted his resignation earlier this month. His resignation will be effective March 2.

CNN: Mississippi mayor, wife arrested on Katrina fraud charges

(CNN) -- The mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, and his wife were arrested Wednesday on charges they defrauded the federal government and an insurance company of more than $220,000 in claims related to Hurricane Katrina, authorities said.

MORGAN MESSENGER: Emergency director can keep using vehicle

Commissioner Stacy Dugan asked for an explanation of Emergency Services Director Dave Michael’s use of a county-owned vehicle at the Thursday, January 15 meeting of the Morgan County Commission.

Dugan said several people had expressed concern about Michael taking the vehicle home to his residence in Clear Spring, Md.

Michael replied that he had been authorized by the commission to use the vehicle to commute between work and home since 2006.

SIOUXLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL: Grant to aid college’s homeland security training

WASHINGTON - Western Iowa Tech Community College has been awarded a more than $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help provide homeland security training.

The Sioux City college recently finished work on a $6 million Security Institute, which will house real-life training in disaster and emergency management.

The 38,000-square-foot building also will become home of the joint city/county 911 communications center.

USA TODAY: Rail lines, bus systems show security shortfalls

WASHINGTON — The first federal evaluation of mass-transit security shows that more than 75% of the nation's major rail and bus systems aren't meeting Homeland Security guidelines.

By contrast, 96% of airlines are complying with security requirements, according to a new report by the department. The report doesn't identify which rail and bus systems fell short.

The assessment comes as new Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says she plans to focus more on mass transit, possibly through "redeployment" of resources from other areas.

"We've done an awful lot in the aviation world," Napolitano said Monday. "We could pay more attention" to surface transportation security.

MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE: City implements emergency notification system

Last week the City Council approved a computer system that will change the way the city responds to emergencies, allowing officials, with the touch of a button, to notify residents of important information through text messages, phone calls and e-mails.

ROTHSTEIN: Commentary: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

Nearly half of U.S. states either have no state-level emergency plan or do not provide it readily to the public, according to a new study by George Mason University Professor of Communications Carl Botan.

ATLANTIC NEWS TELEGRAPH: Former Alco manager hired as Emergency Management Coordinator

Mike Kennon, former manager of the Alco Store in Atlantic, was hired as the Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Monday evening by members of the emergency management board, according to a press release from board president, and Atlantic Police Chief, Steve Green.

KC STAR: Fixing public safety radio system looms as another big cost for KC

As if the Kansas City Council didn’t have enough financial headaches, it can add one more: the need for a multimillion-dollar public safety radio system.

WASHINGTON POST: Bruno Taking Fire in FEMA Commissioner Competition

Jockeying to take over the Federal Emergency Management Agency is getting rougher these days.

Backers of Los Angeles emergency manager Ellis M. Stanley Sr. are fiercely lobbying Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's advisers not to name rival New York City emergency commissioner Joseph F. Bruno to the post, calling him unqualified. And a source close to the process says that Bruno was never really in the mix anyway.

EMS1.COM: Fla. firefighter who stole foot charged with theft

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A St. Lucie County firefighter who took a man’s severed foot from the scene of a highway crash last year has been charged with misdemeanor theft, authorities say.

BUSINESS INSURANCE: Homeland Security implements shipping regulation

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security began implementing a new cargo security regulation on Monday that will affect shippers and importers.

On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, directed federal agencies to freeze implementation of recent regulations that have not yet taken affect, pending White House review.

But DHS said in a statement Monday that it was moving forward with its Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements interim final rule, which requires marine cargo carriers and importers to submit new information to the department's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

SLASH GEAR: Huge e-paper screens give Japanese disaster advice

We’re used to seeing e-paper in sub-10-inch squares, slapped onto the front of an Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader, but over in Japan they’re experimenting with using the technology to give Tokyo residents large-scale disaster warnings and evacuation advice. Two installations were fitted, the first measuring 1 x 3.2m in a Post Office window, while the smaller second panel, at 60 x 40cm, was added to a bus-stop.

AP: Retired cop: Queen narrowly averted train disaster

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Britain's Queen Elizabeth II narrowly escaped disaster in 1970 when a large wooden log was placed on a railroad track in an apparent attempt to derail her train as she traveled across Australia, a retired detective said Wednesday.

Former New South Wales state Detective Superintendent Cliff McHardy, 81, said the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, were traveling through the Blue Mountains, 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Sydney, on April 29, 1970, when their train struck the log, which became stuck under the front wheels.

But the locomotive was not moving fast enough to become derailed, sliding about 200 yards (meters) before coming to a stop, said McHardy, who investigated the incident at the time and is convinced the log was placed on the tracks deliberately.

WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY: Legislation would revamp clearance process

House members have introduced legislation that would require reporting on governmentwide adjudication and investigation guidelines for the security clearance process and ways to evaluate how agencies accept each other’s clearances for employees and contractors.

DHS: Ivan K. Fong to Be Nominated as Homeland Security General Counsel

DHS: Secretary Napolitano Issues Action Directives on First Responder Health Surge Capacity and Hurricane Katrina

DHS: Secretary Napolitano Issues Additional Action Directives on Cyber Security and Northern Border Strategy

DHS: Secretary Napolitano Issues Action Directives on FEMA State and Local Integration and National Planning

NEWSWEEK: Armchair Survivor

For me, survival can best be summed up with the phrase: "Don't be where bears are." I am a huge fan of the disaster-avoidance method. I don't scuba dive, skate on ponds, snowmobile, rock climb and though I can ski, I usually try not to. I struggle with even the most vaguely dangerous task, such as climbing ladders or household chores of any kind. Climbing stairs with cuffed pants and high heels? That makes me downright panicky.

The point here is that absolutely anything can kill you under the right circumstances. In England, where they keep track of these things, dozens of people have been found to die by zipper! Trust me, if it can kill you, it will. So I was thrilled to discover a show tailor-made for a person who worries about what would happen if I, say, tripped while walking to the subway and impaled myself on the wrought iron fence surrounding my local church. It's called "I Survived" and airs every Monday at 9 p.m. on the Bio Channel (formerly the Biography Channel). For 60 minutes, "I Survived" presents first-person stories of people who not only endured some of the most horrible accidents and crimes I've ever heard of, but survived to tell the tale.

NEWSWEEK: Terror on Wall Street

At noon on Sept. 16, 1920, a carriage filled with dynamite exploded at the corner of Wall St. and Broad St.the heart of America's newly confident financial capital. The attack, which was clearly aimed at the headquarters of the era's dominant financial institutions, J.P. Morgan & Co., killed dozens of people and has remained one of the greatest unsolved mysteries. In "The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror" (Oxford University Press), Yale historian Beverly Gage details the dramatic attack and the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to finds the culprits, and revives the frequently forgotten history of radical-inspired violence that was surprisingly common in a period generally remembered as a triumphant one for big business.

GT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Orange County, Calif., May Be Successful Model for Interoperable Communications Systems

The assertion that all responders from cities within one county should share an interoperable communications system really isn't debatable in the United States. The delays caused by a lack of interoperable communications between fire and police at the World Trade Center on 9/11 are common knowledge. But many counties still struggle to persuade first responder agencies in cities to agree on uniform system specs.

Their concerns are serious. In 2003, the National Task Force on Interoperability outlined five obstacles to achieving county interoperability. The task force blamed:

  • aging and incompatible equipment;
  • fragmented budget cycles;
  • limited and fragmented planning and coordination;
  • limited and fragmented spectrum; and
  • agency resistance to uniform equipment standards.

However, four years before that report, Orange County, Calif., managed to connect all of its responders in 31 cities on the same 800 MHz trunk radio system. The system supports more than 17,000 radios and averages about 55,000 transmissions daily. The trunk system uses 81 channels and has nearly 400 talkgroups.

GT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: 911 Alarm Transmission Standard Approved

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) announced Monday the approval of an American National Standard that enables alarm companies to transmit alerts to 911 centers automatically.

Alarm companies typically place a phone call to 911 centers when an alarm sounds, but the new standard would send them automatically.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY: Opinion: FEMA Still Mired in 'Know-It-All' Mentality

Jan 27, 2009, By Eric E. Holdeman

Presidential transitions provide opportunities for changing how government and agencies function. A change in overall philosophy of governance by a new administration can lead to very dramatic, even radical changes in agency priorities, programs and grants.

There could be new directions ahead for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under Barack Obama's administration. As federal agencies go, FEMA is a relatively young agency that has already seen significant changes in its 30-year history. I won't tackle here the issue of FEMA remaining part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or reverting to an independent agency, perhaps even a Cabinet-level one. What's discussed below can happen no matter where FEMA resides on the organizational chart, as long as the right leadership is in place.

WNYT: Morrison Resigns: ‘I Have Made The Difficult Decision’

Glenn Morrison, Jefferson County Director of Emergency Management, has resigned.

Morrison said in a statement late Tuesday that “With great anticipation in a new career, I have made the difficult decision to resign my post within Jefferson County.”

GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE: Theories of Governance v. Theories of Government

It's going to be all Slate, all the time today, folks. For some reason, the little online newsmagazine has decided to write a lot about government's role and government jobs over the past 48 hours, and if they write it, I'm more than happy to blog it. First up is this piece from Slate editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg, in which he argues that President Obama has a view of how governance should work, but not of what government should do.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY: Commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM to speak at IU homeland security conference

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gen. Gene Renuart will be the keynote speaker for a free, day-long Indiana University conference, "Safeguarding America through Homeland Defense," taking place Feb. 4 at the University Place Conference Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

HOMELAND SECURITY WATCH: Federal Preparedness Report Released

Seven days before the hand-off to the Obama administration, DHS finalized the Federal Preparedness Report (FPR). The report reviews preparedness efforts at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels over the past five years.

BAHAMAISLANDSINFO.COM: NEMA oversees training for disaster management personnel

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) facilitated a workshop for key personnel in disaster management, to certify them as instructors in the proper presentation of information on disasters when they arise.

Monday, January 26, 2009

NETWORK WORLD: Mobile feds: We want our BlackBerries, too

President Barack Obama isn't the only U.S. federal government employee who wants to keep his BlackBerry. Across the federal market, information workers are asking for mobile devices such as smart phones and laptops with wireless data cards so they can access e-mail and other Internet services while they are on the go.

Increasingly, federal agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Interior are responding with wireless data contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to carriers.

KNOXVILLE BIZ: TVA used fed plan 2nd

The Tennessee Valley Authority didn't use a mandated command structure for interagency disaster response at the Kingston Fossil Plant's fly ash spill, making coordination with local emergency personnel an ad hoc affair for the first couple of days following the disaster, according to Roane County's top emergency responder.

Roane County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Howie Rose said TVA officials didn't initially use the Incident Command System required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Part of the National Incident Management System, the system allows agencies that normally use different terminology and protocols to coordinate efforts when responding to emergencies.

TIMES AND DEMOCRAT: Red Cross interim director seeks more volunteers

The new interim leader of the Greater Edisto Chapter of the American Red Cross compares the job to climbing a mountain. Yet he doesn’t feel his main goals of recruiting more board members and developing an effective fund-raising plan are insurmountable.

Santee resident Al Breeland has been a member of the board since August 2008. He began work Tuesday as the interim executive director of the chapter, which is working to sustain its viability in the community amid continuing funding and recruitment challenges. The chapter serves Orangeburg, Barnwell and Allendale counties.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to change the current image and move our programs to the next level, but we’ve got some volunteers who are with us 100 percent. Everybody I’ve met ... in the last few days is enthusiastic about the future, and I am, too,” Breeland said.

DAILY NEWS: Officials pleased with ice storm response emergency

WEST NEWBURY — All in all, the caliber of the emergency response to an ice storm last December was excellent, town leaders have agreed.

The Board of Selectmen held a debriefing last week with public safety and highway officials to review how well the public was served during the emergency. An ice storm on Dec. 8 resulted in an extended town-wide power outage, causing loss of heat and hot water for many residents. Countless basements flooded and ice-laden trees and branches were down all over town.

Emergency Management Director Scott Berkenbush, police Chief Lisa Holmes, fire Chief Raymond "Rock" Dower and DPW Director Gary Bill participated in the debriefing, which included analysis of the response and some suggestions for improvement in the event of a future emergency.

COMPUTERWORLD: Security Manager's Journal: Exploring low-cost disaster recovery options

January 26, 2009 (Computerworld) Now that my disaster recovery budget for 2009 has been wiped out, I'm trying to find some kind of replacement that won't cost any money upfront. I can't in good conscience sit idly by while we roll out critical services without the safety net of DR -- that's like watching a friend drive without a seat belt. Maybe there's a very good chance that nothing bad will happen, but if something does go wrong, the consequences can be so severe that the overall risk is beyond acceptance.

HOMELAND SECURITY WATCH: Update HSPDs 5 and 8

As Secretary Napolitano undertakes a wide-ranging review of DHS operations, plans, and capabilities, no doubt she is either leading or informing a similar review of the two dozen Homeland Security Presidential Directives issued by President Bush since 9/11. All HSPDs are likely on the chopping block, but for different reasons. Some are inconsistent with President Obama’s philosophy and strategy. Some are simply outdated. We’ll take a look at a few of them here and in subsequent posts.

NEWSDAY: NY criminal justice boss to lead homeland security

ALBANY, N.Y. - The commissioner of New York's Division of Criminal Justice Services will also take responsibility for homeland security issues, Gov. David Paterson said Monday.

Denise O'Donnell will replace current Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Michael Balboni, whose resignation becomes official Feb. 2. She will remain New York's criminal justice commissioner.

O'Donnell will oversee all homeland security and criminal justice agencies including criminal justice, the Office of Homeland Security, the Division of State Police, the Department of Corrections, the Division of Parole, and the State Emergency Management Office, among others.

UN DISPATCH: The UN's Loss is the Department of Homeland Security's Gain

Jane Holl Lute*, a retired U.S. army officer who has stewarded UN peacekeeping through one of its fastest periods of growth, will leave UN for the United States Department of Homeland Security. She will serve as the Deputy Secretary to Governor Janet Napolitano.

This is the UN's loss. Lute is a brilliant logistician who managed the day-to-day operations of the second-largest deployed military force in the world. Since August, she has headed the new UN Office of Peace-building Support.

WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: FEMA awards $50M to AT&T

AT&T Government Solutions was picked as the primary wireless provider for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security agency, through a string of $50 million contracts.

About 6,600 FEMA employees will be able to use a combination of mobile devices, smart phones and wireless laptop cards from AT&T to run e-mail, voice communications and data applications in the field.

The company received three awards, each with a one-year base and four one-year options.

NTI/GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE: Obama Challenged to Move From War on Terror to Routine Vigilance

On Sept. 11, 2001, George W. Bush took America to war. On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama took the helm of a war-weary nation. The armed forces are worn down by repeated deployments and more than 4,800 deaths. Law enforcement is frazzled by seven years in which the Homeland Security Department's color-coded level of alert has never dropped below "yellow: elevated: a significant risk of terrorist attacks."

As the recession crimps federal, state, and local budgets, no level of government can stay on a war footing forever. So, without letting security slide, President Obama must somehow convert his predecessor's "global war on terror" into a routine, sustainable function of governance.

"One of the downsides of using the term 'war' is that we see war as a finite undertaking with a beginning and an end," said Brian Michael Jenkins, a senior adviser at the RAND think tank. "The reality is, in some form, we are going to be dealing with this for the foreseeable future."

AP: Eisenhower building near White House evacuated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington fire officials say the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House was evacuated briefly after smoke from a fireplace clouded one of the floors.

Firefighters were called to the building on 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue about 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

Fire spokesman Alan Etter says firefighters extinguished a fire in a fireplace on the second floor. They believe an obstruction in a chimney caused light smoke to build up on the fourth floor. No damage was reported.

The Secret Service evacuated the building for about 30 minutes as a precaution. There were a few people inside the building, which houses White House staff.

(This version CORRECTS the time firefighters received the call to 12:15 p.m., based on corrected information from department)

BROADCAST LAW BLOG: Senator Hutchison Announces Compromise on DTV Transition Delay Until June 12 - Why Congress Needs to Act Soon

This week, an agreement by Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the ranking minority member on the Senate Commerce Committee, to an extension of the DTV transition deadline from February 17 until June 12, was announced. The delay has been requested so that issues about the distribution of the $40 government coupons to consumers to ease their purchase of converters to allow analog TVs to pick up digital signals so that they will continue to work after the transition date can be resolved; and so that there can be more targeted information about the transition delivered to groups that many feel may not have received the message about the transition. But Congressional Republicans have thus far blocked attempts by the Obama administration to delay the transition, so this agreement by Senator Hutchinson is viewed as a sign that the extension may very well be approved in the near term. As the transition deadline is only weeks away, if Congress is going to act, it needs to do so immediately, or the effect of any delay will be negligible as the transition will have, for all practical purposes, already occurred.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

HONOLULU ADVERTISER: City plans evacuation routes

The city will spend about $3.5 million to define and construct evacuation routes from coastal areas as part of an effort to ensure orderly exits from low-lying communities in the event of a tsunami or severe flooding.

YORK DAILY RECORD: Police, fire portable radio batteries swapped

In the fall of 2008, police departments in York County received new batteries and chargers from M/A-COM as part of the new 911 system the county was having installed.

But officers soon discovered what they believed was a major shortcoming with the new Nickel-cadmium batteries -- their charge didn't hold for an entire shift, which for police departments can last as long as 12 hours.

Starting around the end of November, M/A-COM began swapping the 1,200 NiCd batteries with longer-lasting Nickel-metal Hydride batteries.

"We went to Tyco (M/A-COM's parent company) and said, 'Our end-users aren't happy,' so they offered the solution to swap them at no extra cost," said Brian Morrin, York County Office of Emergency Management spokesman.

ISTOCKANALYST: Wal-Mart Probe Goes on Equipment Malfunction is Ruled Out in Germantown Evacuation

(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)trackingBy DON BEHM

Germantown -- A malfunction of heating, cooling or ventilation equipment does not appear to be the cause of the Jan. 15 release of a chemical inside the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Appleton Ave. that forced an evacuation of the store and sent nearly 50 people to area hospitals for treatment of respiratory problems, Village Police Chief Peter Hoell said.

The possible intentional release of an unidentified substance inside the store remains the focus of a large-scale criminal investigation, Hoell said in an interview last week.

Both the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting Germantown police in what he described as "an extremely active" investigation.

HERMISTON HERALD: Stearns to head Umatilla CSEPP

So much for retirement.

Jim Stearns, former Hermiston Fire and Emergency Services chief is the head of Umatilla County Emergency Management.

He replaces Ray Denny, who went to work for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Stearns has been a large part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP, from the beginning, said Umatilla County Commissioner Dennis Doherty, which made Stearns appointment to the job 'perfect.'

"You hear this a lot, but this was a good fit," Doherty said.

VANCOUVER SUN: Risk planning should be priority for entrepreneurs

Risk is always a factor in launching a business, although not all entrepreneurs recognize the potential for peril that could bring operations to a grinding halt.

Extreme weather, a mass power grid failure or even an incident of gunfire unleashed amid an urban centre can paralyze a small business for days, or even longer.

Such risks coupled with the increased dependency on technology render up-to-date contingency planning and emergency preparedness an integral New Year's resolution for business sustainability.

MIAMI HERALD: Former Miami-Dade fire chief put FEMA back on track

David Paulison, the former Miami-Dade fire chief picked by President Bush to rehabilitate the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the drubbing it took for its anemic response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, gets good marks from fellow emergency managers for helping to get the agency back on track.

''David took FEMA and I believe, turned it around,'' said Nancy Dragani, president of the National Emergency Management Association and director of Ohio's emergency management agency. ``He left that agency in much better shape than when he took it.''

Paulison says there's still room for improvement, but is confident Katrina wouldn't happen again. He left just as President Barack Obama comes into office, saying it's time for some ``fresh eyes.''

In an interview with The Miami Herald, edited for space, he reflects on the agency he inherited and the one he's turning over to the new administration.

BLACKANTHEM MILITARY NEWS: Indian Island to host Navy force protection exercise Monday and Tuesday

PORT TOWNSEND, Washington - Indian Island is conducting a force protection drill Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 26-27, designed to exercise installation capabilities in reporting, deterring, defending, and recovering from terrorist incidents with an in-port vessel.

The NAVMAG Indian Island Emergency Operations Center will be partnering with the Jefferson County Emergency Management Office and the Joint Harbor Operations Center in Seattle at various times during the exercise to execute standard notification procedures.

OH&S: MMWR Paper Explains 2006 EMS Decision Scheme

A Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report paper on the process and rationale used by experts who revised the American College of Surgeons' Field Triage Decision Scheme for publication in 2006 gives a thorough look at the decisions involved. First published in 1986, the scheme is an algorithm used by about 800,000 EMS personnel nationwide. It takes EMS providers through four decision steps (physiologic, anatomic, mechanism of injury, and special considerations) to determine the most appropriate destination within the local trauma care system. The paper was published in last Friday's MMWR.

DAYTON DAILY NEWS: Disaster response training center could be a windfall

FAIRBORN — Fairborn and Greene County leaders say cleaning up a brownfield to turn it into a disaster training ground could create a tsunami of economic benefits.

Calamityville could attract thousands of medical first responders from around the country bringing spinoff dollars to the Miami Valley.

"What we're looking at is creating a disaster theme park," said Dr. Glenn Hamilton, one of the Wright State University medical school doctors developing the project, which could simulate all types of disasters.

FEDERAL COMPUTER WEEK: DHS ranks high on GAO's high-risk list

The Homeland Security Department is tied for second among federal departments for having the most high-risk management challenges on the Government Accountability Office’s biennial high-risk list released Jan. 22.

The Defense Department is first, with eight high-risk areas, and DHS and the Health and Human Services Department are tied for second, each with four high-risk areas.

GAO’s list identifies 30 federal programs and management areas at high risk of waste and abuse, up from 27 listed in 2007, including several risks that affect multiple departments.

BUSINESS FIRST: Health department to host nation’s first public health and safety satellite channels

The Kentucky Department of Public Health soon will launch three national satellite radio network channels dedicated to providing communications among public health agencies, hospitals and emergency medical services across the country.

The channels will enable public safety agencies to move around without losing critical communications, and participate in a nationwide two-way satellite radio conversation.

HULIQ NEWS: Bloodbath In Belgian Daycare Center

Yesterday 2 babies and a woman were stabbed to death in a daycare center in Dendermonde, Belgium. 8 other children between 6 months and 3 years old were severely wounded as well. Witnesses say the killer, a 20 year old man, walked into the daycare center and started attacking children immediately. The killer escaped but was caught by the police an hour later.

HAWAII TRIBUNE HERALD: Tsunami drill Tuesday

Mayor: Every agency needs to be prepared for a disaster

Police will turn out at more than 100 intersections around the island Tuesday morning for a comprehensive tsunami drill and public information campaign.

In a real disaster, officers would set up roadblocks and redirect people to a safe location.

Instead, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., police will be handing out fliers that explain the nature of the drill and a map of the evacuation zone. Barricades will be dropped off at each intersection, but they won't be erected.

READING EABLE: New Berks County emergency services center has elbow room and lots of computers

Berks County, PA - A display tallies the number of 9-1-1 and nonemergency calls that come in on each shift.

The people answering the calls have elbow room and computers pinpointing the location of every emergency call.

What used to be a room with tables, chairs, telephones and a few computers in an old building now is a modern emergency operations center with computer terminals at all 52 work stations.

Its large computerized screens were activated this week to display information when Interstate 78 was shut down after a 23-car pileup in bad weather.

All those functions are together in one room now because Berks County's 9-1-1 center and emergency management agency merged last month.

KEYSNET.COM: Redundancy? 2nd emergency center planned for airport

A second emergency operations center might be coming to Florida Keys Marathon Airport.

Wednesday, the Monroe County Commission is expected to consider approving a contract with Architects Design Group Inc. to complete design work for a new county EOC. The city of Marathon already operates one of its own out of the new fire station at the airport.

The current county EOC is the Marathon Government Center. When a hurricane approaches, the County Commission chambers are transformed into a communications hub for local, state and federal agencies.

But it's inadequate, County Engineer Dave Koppel said, because its 150 mph wind rating is not up to state standards for that use. It's also below the 18-foot flood plane required for an EOC, he said.

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY: University Researchers, Virginia Department of Emergency Management Collaborate to Develop Statewide Hazard Mitigation Plan

Floods, wild fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes are just a few examples of natural phenomena that cost the state millions of dollars in property and infrastructure damage. National, state, and local agencies are working with Virginia's Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and researchers at the Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) to develop part of a revised statewide plan for communities to identify these risks, vulnerabilities, and estimate potential losses.

SPACE.COM: What Happens When Satellites Fall

The recent trials of an out-of-control communications satellite and a defunct, leaky Soviet-era spacecraft toting its own nuclear reactor call up the question: What exactly happens when satellites die in space?

There are actually a few possibilities, some good, and others not so much.

PC WORLD: Block Wi-Fi Intruders with a Secure Paint Job

IT managers should start familiarizing themselves with a new security tool -- the paint brush -- as Japanese researchers have come up with a paint that they say will block high-speed wireless signals, giving businesses a cheap option to protect their wireless networks.

YAHOO/REUTERS: Earthquake rattles Alaska's largest city

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – A moderate 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, on Saturday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was 161 miles southwest of Anchorage. There was no tsunami warning in effect, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center website.

Magnitude 5 quakes can cause considerable damage, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

Friday, January 23, 2009

USA TODAY: West Nile virus cases were overstated in 2008 across U.S.

State health departments across the nation are learning this month the number of West Nile virus cases they thought they had in 2008 was overstated — in one case by more than 35% — because of faulty testing kits.

The problem test kits, from Inverness Medical Innovations of Waltham, Mass., resulted in incorrect diagnoses of West Nile virus in at least 42 states, said Kristen Janusz, an epidemic intelligence service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The mosquito-borne illness, first identified in the U.S. in 1999, produces mild flu-like symptoms and can cause death.

LA TIMES: L.A. controller questions expense, use of city's 'take-home' cars

Driving a company car home each night with free gas and maintenance has long been a cushy perk for hundreds of Los Angeles employees. But in these difficult economic times, when the city faces a $433-million deficit, some officials question whether the expense -- in the tens of millions of dollars -- is justifiable.

In two audits released Thursday, Los Angeles City Controller Laura N. Chick criticized the sometimes questionable use of vehicles in the fleet of more than 1,100 "take-home" cars and lax oversight of city-issued gasoline credit cards. The vehicles, purchased at a cost of $27 million to the taxpayers, are assigned to hundreds of police and fire officials, elected city officials, their staffs and city department heads.

MORNINGCALL.COM: Autopsy reports are public, high court declares

Autopsy records should be available to the public, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a Lehigh Valley case.

The ruling capped a three-year legal battle by The Morning Call and the Express-Times of Easton to get the autopsy report for Jesse Sollman, an Easton police officer fatally shot inside police headquarters by another officer in 2005.

The newspapers went to court after Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim refused to release the report, saying it was not one of the ''official records and papers.''

In its 5-1 ruling, the high court said Grim and the lower courts were wrong to say the records were private, but it gave judges discretion to keep them under wraps.

DHS: Jane Holl Lute to Be Nominated as Homeland Security Deputy Secretary

Release Date: January 23, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Today, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Jane Holl Lute as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition, Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the following appointments for her senior staff: Noah Kroloff, Chief of Staff for Policy to the Secretary; and Jan Lesher, Chief of Staff for Operations to the Secretary.

FIREHOUSE: D.C. Officials Reflect on Record-Setting Inauguration Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A record 2,100 calls for assistance were received by D.C. Fire and EMS on Tuesday as 1.8 million people descended on the city to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama..

The majority of calls handled by local personnel and crews from surrounding jurisdictions including Maryland and Virginia as well as some recruited by FEMA involved exposure issues as the temperatures never budged out of the 20s.

Several people were treated in a Metro station after they complained of chest pains and shortness of breath after being forced to walk up escalators that failed.

There were no major incidents on Inauguration Day. Sen. Ted Kennedy, who suffered a seizure during the Presidential luncheon, was transported to Washington Hospital Center.

A woman suffered a shoulder injury after falling onto a Metro rail track. A Houston Transit officer is credited with saving her.

Having the right equipment and crews at the ready paid off Saturday for a person attending the concert on the Mall, said Dr. James Augustine, the fire department medical director.

FIREHOUSE: Blind Boston Dispatcher Tackles Robbery Suspect

BOSTON -- A legally blind Boston Fire Department dispatcher who was reading the book "Practice Random Acts of Kindness" didn't hesitate Wednesday when he spotted a violent robbery during a subway ride.

FIREHOUSE: Atlanta Seeks to End Police, Firefighter Cuts

The Atlanta City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to look for money in the city budget to end recent cuts in work hours for police officers, firefighters, 911 operators and corrections officers.

The idea comes largely in response to growing concerns in Atlanta neighborhoods that crime is becoming a severe problem. Although Police Department figures show violent crime declined by 9 percent from 2007 and 2008, the recent shooting death of a bartender in southeast Atlanta has sparked complaints from residents about crime and whether the city has enough police officers.

YAHOO/AP: Report: Upgrading FEMA flood maps would save lives

WASHINGTON – Upgrading outdated maps used to calculate flood danger would save lives, prevent damage to property and businesses, and preserve infrastructure, researchers say.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood insurance rate maps are used to set flood insurance rates, regulate development in flood plains, and let people know about the risk they face.

YAHOO/AP: Defective body armor costs company $1 million

WASHINGTON – A Canadian company will pay the United States just over $1 million to resolve allegations it violated federal law by selling a defective material used in bulletproof vests worn by law enforcement officers, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Barrday Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario, was aware of the problems with its woven Zylon fabric by at least 2001, investigators said, but continued to sell the protective material until 2003 when two police officers were shot through their vests. One of the officers was killed and the other seriously injured.

According to the settlement agreement, Barrday executives denied any wrongdoing.

Barrday's Zylon was used in vests sold by Second Chance Body Armor Inc., Point Blank Body Armor Inc. and Gator Hawk Armor Inc.

The government alleged Barrday's Zylon lost its ballistic capability too quickly, especially when exposed to heat and humidity. The vests were bought and used by state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in a program partly financed by the Justice Department.

"This settlement will help ensure that component suppliers are held responsible for materials that put our first-responders at risk," Michael Hertz, acting assistant attorney general for the civil division, said in a statement.

The Barrday settlement is part of a larger, ongoing federal investigation of the use of Zylon in body armor. As part of the agreement, Barrday will cooperate with investigators.

NY TIMES: Obama May Carry Top-Secret P.D.A.

Nobody’s saying anything official or on the record about this, but reports popping up all across the Web indicate that while President Obama may be able to keep a mobile phone/e-mail device while in office, that device may be something more exotic than a BlackBerry from Research in Motion.

(Cue James Bond theme.)

The nation’s e-mailer in chief may be carrying something called a Sectéra Edge, which is made by the military contractor General Dynamics (you know, the submarine people). The product description reads: “Developed for the National Security Agency’s Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device (SME PED) program, the Sectéra Edge is certified to protect wireless voice communications classified Top Secret and below as well as access e-mail and Web sites classified Secret and below.” Read more from the Gadgetwise blog…

USA TODAY: U.N. exec picked for No. 2 at Homeland Security

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top United Nations official who once served on the White House National Security Council has been picked for deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, a move that would place two women at the top of the department for the first time.

President Barack Obama's nomination of Jane Holl Lute, a retired Army major who worked on the NSC under President Bill Clinton, was announced Friday by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Three secretaries and five deputy secretaries — all men — have served at the agency since it launched in 2003.

At the U.N., Lute coordinates peace efforts among countries in conflict.

"Jane's experience leading large operations with broad and challenging missions lends itself to the undertaking we have before us at Homeland Security," Napolitano said in a statement.

YAHOO/AP: Crews hoist plane's engine from Hudson River

NEW YORK – The battered, twisted left engine of the US Airways plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River was recovered Friday, after an eight-day struggle to find the wreckage and pull it from the murky water.

Using a large crane and rigging, salvage crews gently set the engine on a crane platform. Shards of metal and wiring hung from the engine, and a large portion of the outer shell appeared to be missing as it was lifted from the river bottom, 65 feet below the surface.

Immediately after the engine was set down, National Transportation Safety Board investigators began documenting and photographing it as part of their probe into the plane's remarkable landing.

NTA: Oklahoma City Bomb Threat Shuts Down Federal Office

An ex-convict is being blamed for a bomb threat that shut down the federal office building near downtown for hours Wednesday.

Federal employees were evacuated after the 12:30 p.m. bomb threat, officials said. Oklahoma City police blocked off nearby streets as bomb technicians worked to check a backpack left at the building and a car parked outside.

“This is a major disruption,” FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. “It is affecting all of downtown.”

Police arrested Roderick Robinson, 30, of Oklahoma City at Walker Cos., a few blocks east of the federal building, about 30 minutes later.

The bomb threat shook up workers in an area devastated in April 1995 when a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The office building evacuated Wednesday was built to replace the Murrah Building.

“It was unnerving,” said Sue Stephens, an office manager of the Walker Cos., where Robinson had used the phone.

The car and backpack were cleared, the FBI said about 10 p.m. No explosive devices were found.

The FBI alleges Robinson gave two threatening handwritten notes to a security guard at the entrance of the federal building. One note claimed a bomb was in the backpack and the other claimed a bomb was in a gray car outside, according to the FBI.

“Both notes said, basically, ‘Give me money’ and ‘You have five minutes,’” Johnson said. “There are some indications he may have written one or both of the notes outside the federal building prior to entering.”

NTA: Plutonium From Manhatten Project Discovered In Landfill - Hanford Site

One of the most dangerous substances known to man has been found unguarded — in a garbage dump.

Workers cleaning up the Hanford Site, a huge decommissioned nuclear research facility in southeastern Washington state, came across an old safe buried in a pit.

Cracking it open, they found a glass bottle — which turned out to contain plutonium made for the Manhattan Project in 1945.

Plutonium is extremely radioactive, and even a tiny amount could cause lung cancer in a human who breathed it in. But this wasn’t just any plutonium — this was an extremely pure sample of the fissile isotope plutonium-239, used to make atomic bombs such as the one dropped on Nagasaki.

In fact, it now turns out that except for a tiny sample stored at the Smithsonian, the 400 milliliters from the bottle is the oldest batch of plutonium-239 in existence. It’s not enough to make a nuclear weapon, but it’d be plenty for terrorist to manufacture a “dirty bomb” with.

All the other sizable samples of plutonium-239 from 1945 went into the Nagasaki bomb or the Trinity nuclear-test bomb that preceded it. It’s not clear why this batch was left out — or how it came to end up in a sealed safe abandoned in a landfill.

GT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: University of Buffalo to Test Biological Agent Detection System

The University of Buffalo will soon begin testing an airborne anthrax monitor developed by Universal Detection Technology. The testing and deployment of the BSM-2000 will be handled by CUBRC, a non-profit research, development, testing and systems integration institute based out of Buffalo, New York.

"The testing at the University of Buffalo will give us the opportunity to test the BSM-2000 at a buildings two most vulnerable areas to a bioterror attack: the mail room and the HVAC system," said Mr. Jacques Tizabi, UNDT's chief executive officer.

The system will be deployed at two campus locations. One system will be deployed at the central mail sorting facility at the University of Buffalo and the other will be the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) air intake for the Biomedical Research Building at the University. Testing is to be conducted for the duration of one month at which time CUBRC will report the results of the testing in a formal report. The test plan has also been submitted to the Department of Homeland Security as part of UNDT's SAFETY Act application.

UNDT licensed the detection technology used in the BSM-2000 through a technology transfer program with NASA's JPL. The system is capable of detecting abnormal levels of bacterial spores in the air and the technology has been featured in several peer reviewed scientific journals and has been evaluated by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

JOURNAL-NEWS: Disaster preparedness - 167th participates in large-scale anthrax training

MARTINSBURG - A mock disaster drill that was the first of its kind to be conducted on such a large scale took place Thursday at the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

The scenario involved the need for a C-5 Galaxy aircraft to make an emergency landing at the 167th base when the crew and passengers fell ill with flu-like symptoms on a returning flight from Afghanistan.

According to the drill, it is later determined through a series of tests that those on board have been exposed to anthrax from souvenirs such as rugs and other wool products brought home by the passengers aboard the aircraft.

Thursday's drill was unique in that there had never been a scenario involving the presence of a weapon of mass destruction on a C-5, according to guard representatives.

WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE: Emergency director hands in resignation


BOLTON —
Emergency management director Donald Baum submitted his letter of resignation to selectmen last night, saying, “Things have to change and people need to come to meetings. You cannot operate with only one person.”

Mr. Baum, a firefighter and Department of Public Works employee and a volunteer emergency management director, had been asked to attend the meeting and discuss his emergency action plan’s success or failures in response to the Dec. 11-12 ice storm.

APP.COM: Double standard in the courtroom

A video purportedly showing Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin using a county vehicle for personal use will not be allowed as evidence in the trial of a county employee accused of improperly taking 7.8 gallons of gasoline from the county pumps, a judge ruled this week.

Too bad. It not only would have provided evidence of selective prosecution against suspended Emergency Management Coordinator Harry J. Conover Jr., but it would have helped demonstrate what a waste of time and taxpayer money it has been to pursue the case against him in the courts. It also would have raised further questions about the motive behind the decision to play hardball with Conover for his alleged offense, when similar offenses committed all too often by employees at all strata of government are treated far less harshly. The hypocrisy in the case is blatant.

ALACHUA COUNTY TODAY: Craig Fugate: Florida’s emergency management leader remembers roots

TALLAHASSEE – Today Craig Fugate leads the Florida Division of Emergency Management from his office in Tallahassee. But it wasn’t that long ago that Fugate was kept on his toes growing up in Alachua. “My grandmother worked at the post office, and she got daily reports of my activities from my teachers,” he said. “In a small town, there’s never a situation where somebody’s not watching what you’re doing.” Fugate, now the Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the small town atmosphere, however, helped him become a successful team leader.

DESERET NEWS: UHP colonel is named to head DPS

TAYLORSVILLE — This is not where Lance Davenport imagined he would be.

"I just saw myself coming and doing what I really enjoyed doing for as long as I could do it," the Utah Highway Patrol colonel said Thursday. "I love the profession and I've stayed with it because I enjoyed it. It wasn't for the hours or the money."

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. named Davenport to be the new commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, replacing Scott Duncan, who abruptly resigned Tuesday for what has been termed "health reasons." Davenport praised his friend but refused to answer any questions about why Duncan left.

NY TIMES: Public Safety Leader Expected to Resign

ALBANY (AP) — Michael A. L. Balboni, New York State’s deputy secretary for public safety, is expected to leave his post to work in the private sector.

Mr. Balboni, a Republican who served two Democratic governors, will finish his time in state government next week and take a job based in Washington.

His resignation is expected to be announced soon.

REUTERS UK: Natural disasters cost China $110 billion in 2008

GENEVA (Reuters) - Natural disasters caused nearly $110 billion of damage in China last year, a warning to other emerging economies ill-prepared for potential hazards, the United Nations said on Thursday.

A May earthquake in Sichuan and extreme weather made China the most disaster-affected country in economic terms in 2008, said the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

The U.N. body said the world economy suffered a $181 billion blow from naturally-occurring events such as floods, storms, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and droughts in 2008.

Much of the devastation was avoidable, said ISDR Director Salvano Briceno.

YOUR4STATE.COM: Berkeley County Air Base Holds Largest Disaster Drill In History

BERKELEY COUNTY, WV - The 167th Airlift Wing in Berkeley County held the largest disaster drill in the history of the air base Thursday morning.

In the exercise, more than 20 military personnel were sickened with anthrax after bringing souvenirs back from a tour in Afghanistan.

FIREHOUSE: Arizona Fire District Laid Off; Station Closed

WHITE MOUNTAIN LAKE, Ariz. -- The fire station in White Mountain Lake is closed and the entire staff of the fire district has been laid off indefinitely following an announcement that the district has a deficit of about $400,000.

At a meeting of the district's Governing Board last Tuesday night, Fire Chief Joe Blake told an awestruck audience that the district currently has a negative balance of nearly half a million dollars.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

WABASH PLAIN DEALER: 11-county disaster drill coming to Wabash Middle School

A Biohazard Preparedness District 3 disaster drill, which will include 11 counties in Indiana, is headed for Wabash County.



The announcement was made by Bill Feldheiser, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) instructor for the Incident Command System (ICS), during this week's Wabash County Board of Health meeting.

Feldheiser, along with three representatives of the Indiana State Department of Health, were on hand to brief the board of the decision to hold the drill at Wabash Middle School in April.

“We thought Allen County would step up, but then Wabash County did,” he said. “We felt it would (be a good comparison) in other counties of similar size.”

Feldheiser said the exercise would create a “worst case anthrax scenario” in which the county's current plans for such a disaster could be put to the test.

WASHINGTON POST: Many Bush Officials Held Over at DHS

Wary of being caught short-handed in case of a domestic crisis, the Obama administration has asked nearly two dozen Bush administration officials in the Department of Homeland Security to stay in their jobs until successors can be named.

The attempt at continuity is unusual in presidential transitions between parties, which typically lead to wholesale purging of politically appointed personnel. At the Justice Department, for example, almost no Bush holdovers remain beyond Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip, who is acting as attorney general pending confirmation of Obama nominee Eric H. Holder Jr., and Filip's two top aides.

LA TIMES: UCLA study finds problems in terror alert system

The Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded threat level system is meant to communicate with officials and the public about the nation’s safety. Some communities, however, are getting the wrong message, according to a new UCLA study.

Published in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the study found that marginalized groups, including people of color and those with physical disabilities, were more likely to overestimate the color-coded system and tended to harbor a higher fear of terrorism.

David P. Eisenman, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA, said some of the fear had to do with how Hurricane Katrina was handled.

“The memory of the last disaster doesn’t go away until the next disaster occurs,” Eisenman said. “The perception has been that FEMA and Homeland Security are going to take care of the upper-income neighborhoods before they take care of the lower-income neighborhoods.”

According to the study, 26.1% of Latinos reported worrying very often or often about terrorism, compared with 14.1% of whites, while 6.7% of African Americans said they often avoided activities because of terrorism concerns, compared with 1.1% of whites.

“I wouldn’t even say the problem is the color-coding,” Eisenman said. “The real issue is that people know they’re going to receive less services, that they’re going to be more on their own and they’re going to be more vulnerable. We need to change that perception.”

Results were based on random phone surveys conducted with more than 2,500 Los Angeles County residents between October 2004 and January 2005. The study was funded through a grant to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NY TIMES: Obama Orders Secret Prisons and Detention Camps Closed

WASHINGTON — Saying that “our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground” to combat terrorism, President Obama signed executive orders Thursday ending the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret overseas prisons, banning coercive interrogation methods and closing the Guantánamo Bay detention camp within a year.

LA TIMES: Defendant sentenced to death in Chinese tainted-milk case

Reporting from Beijing -- A court handed down a death sentence today to a man who manufactured a milk additive that caused thousands of Chinese babies to develop kidney stones, some of them fatal.

The defendant, Zhang Yujun, was the first of 21 defendants to be sentenced by the provincial court in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, in China's most famous product tainting case.

INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN: Upland resident prepared for disaster

UPLAND - What to do in the event of an emergency is not something many Southern Californian's think about, but Brenda Hunemiller is working to make sure every city has a plan.

Hunemiller is a disaster management area coordinator for Los Angeles County and received the Gold Award from the California Emergency Services Association at the organization's annual meeting in Palm Springs this fall.

As a disaster management area coordinator, Hunemiller specializes in emergency preparedness plans.

Her current work with local colleges and universities was acknowledged during the annual meeting.

AGRICULTURE BUSINESS WEEK: Detection, Response and Preparedness vs. Agroterrorim (Part 6)

Detection of infectious disease epidemics is a function of public health’s established systems of routine disease surveillance. Disease surveillance refers to the ongoing collection and analysis of disease information to lead to response and control measures. Traditional surveillance for infectious disease relies on a diagnosis being made, either because patients meet specific clinical criteria or because the diagnosis has been confirmed through laboratory testing.

GAO: Natural Hazard Mitigation and Insurance: The United States and Selected Countries Have Similar Natural Hazard Mitigation Policies but Different I

NOLA.COM: Russel Honore among those on list for new FEMA chief

WASHINGTON -- Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is close to naming a new FEMA administrator, with several new names in the mix of potential candidates, including retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, congressional staffers said Wednesday.

Honore got high marks for directing the military response to Hurricane Katrina, drawing praise from Louisiana leaders for his "get-it-done" attitude. But Honore, a native of Lakeland in Pointe Coupee Parish, doesn't have the lengthy record of emergency management of others on Napolitano's short list.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

NY TIMES: Washington Cleans Up After Big Party

WASHINGTON — As Tuesday’s historic inauguration drew to a close and crowds cleared the Mall, an army of city and federal sanitation workers began putting downtown back together.

USA TODAY: Inaugural group apologizes to those turned away

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' inaugural committee is apologizing to several thousand ticket holders to President Barack Obama's swearing-in who were kept out due to unanticipated crowd control problems.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies said in a statement Wednesday that it "deeply regrets" that some ticket holders weren't able to get to their seats. The panel promised that various agencies involved — the committee, U.S. Capitol Police and federal and local officials — will examine all procedures to avoid future problems.

Several thousand ticket holders for the purple and blue zones couldn't get to their seats Tuesday because of the large crowds.

The committee said the inauguration was "extraordinarily successful and peaceful" and was enjoyed by more than a million people.

YAHOO/REUTERS: White powder sent to Dow Jones, WSJ harmless: NYPD

NEW YORK (Reuters) – White powder in about a dozen envelopes sent to Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones executives turned out to be harmless, the New York Police Department said on Wednesday.

The letters contained flour or another food-based substance, police spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters. He said that such letters often are hoaxes.

The envelopes went to Journal Managing Editor Robert Thomson, Dow Jones & Co Chief Executive Les Hinton and Journal Editorial Page Editor Paul Gigot, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

YAHOO/AP: Scientist: New fault could mean major Ark. temblor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake with an epicenter near a major natural gas pipeline, a scientist said Wednesday. Haydar Al-Shukri, the director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said the fault is separate from the New Madrid fault responsible for a series of quakes in 1811-12 that caused the Mississippi River to flow backward.

YAHOO/AP: Va. Tech student fatally stabbed, suspect caught

BLACKSBURG, Va. – A female student was stabbed to death Wednesday night on Virginia Tech's campus, triggering a crisis alert system that was revamped after a deadly mass shooting there in 2007.

Students were warned in an electronic alert Wednesday night to stay in place while police investigated the killing, and were told in a message at 8:37 p.m. that they could resume normal activity.

YAHOO/REUTERS: FDA says Georgia plant is sole salmonella source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The sole source of the U.S. salmonella outbreak involving contaminated peanut butter appears to be the Peanut Corp of America's Blakely, Georgia processing facility, federal officials said on Wednesday.

More than 125 products including cookies, crackers, ice cream and even some pet food have been recalled in connection with the outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

Six deaths may be associated with the outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC said at least 486 people from 43 states and one person in Canada have been reported ill from the outbreak of the Salmonella typhimurium strain, with 107 of them being hospitalized.

Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said Connecticut health authorities tested an unopened container of peanut butter from the PCA's Blakely plant and discovered the strain linked to the outbreak of illness.

The fact that the unopened container had the strain indicates contamination did not occur after it was shipped from the facility, Sundlof said. Coupled with previous evidence, Sundlof said authorities believe the Blakely plant is the only source of the outbreak.