Media Advisory
Secretary Perdue to speak at National HBCU Week Conference TOMORROW
(Washington, D.C., September 9, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will speak at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference TOMORROW, Tuesday, September 10th.
Secretary Perdue to deliver remarks at National HBCU Week Conference
WHAT: Secretary Perdue will deliver remarks at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference. Following his remarks, Secretary Perdue will hold a media availability.
WHEN: TOMORROW, Tuesday, September 10th beginning at 11:15am ET.
WHERE: Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown Hotel, 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
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Press Release
USDA to Provide $150 Million to Help Rural Communities Affected by Natural Disasters
Contact:
Weldon Freeman (202) 690-1384
Jay Fletcher (202) 690-0498
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2019 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service Administrator Bruce Lammers today announced that USDA is making $150 million in grants available through the Community Facilities Program to help rural communities continue their recovery from the devastating effects of hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.
“When rural America thrives, all of America thrives,” Lammers said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA stands with the Nation’s rural communities in their long-term recovery following natural disasters.”
The $150 million is included in the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act that President Trump signed into law on June 6, 2019. The grants may be used for relief in areas affected by Hurricanes Michael and Florence; wildfires in 2018; and other natural disasters where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided a notice declaring a Major Disaster Declaration and assigned a FEMA disaster recovery (DR) number. View the list of designated communities (PDF, 275 KB) as of Sept. 8, 2019. Please check the FEMA website for regular updates and names of additional communities that may be added.
Grant applications will be accepted at USDA state offices on a continual basis until funds are exhausted. Grant assistance will be provided on a graduated scale; smaller communities with the lowest median household income are eligible for a higher proportion of grant funds. For application details and additional information, see page 47477 of the Sept. 10 Federal Register (PDF, 303 KB).
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in eligible rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a cornerstone recommendation of the task force.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
As disruptive strike continues at America’s largest seaport and Rio Tinto Boron Mine
NFI/California Cartage Express Drivers, Teamsters, Faith and Community Leaders Gather at Rio Tinto to Inform Company of its Contractor’s Illegal Labor Practices
(SALT LAKE CITY, Utah) – A delegation of port truck drivers, along with community, labor and faith-based allies from Utah and Los Angeles, will gather at Rio Tinto’s U.S. headquarters and the Rio Tinto Kennecott mine near Salt Lake City on Tues., Sept. 10. The group will educate the Rio Tinto workforce about the illegal working conditions in Rio Tinto’s California supply chain, and deliver a petition to Rio Tinto’s executive leadership at the company’s South Jordan office urging the global mining company to abide by its own supplier code of conduct.
A series of actions began early Monday morning when port truck drivers who haul heavy loads of boron – a mineral mined 300 miles east of Los Angeles that is a critical component in every day consumer products from flat screen TVs to smartphones – from the Rio Tinto mine in Boron, CA, to America’s largest port complex, once again protested their employer’s persistent unfair labor practices by going on strike at the Port of Los Angeles. With the support of the Teamsters Port Division and Teamsters Local 848, drivers walked off the job at 7:30 a.m. PDT to protest unfair and illegal discrimination for aspiring to form a union at their employer, NFI/California Cartage Express (CCX).
WHO: NFI/California Cartage Express (CCX) drivers whom the company misclassifies as “independent contractors,” community and faith-based supporters, and Teamster leaders, including:
WHAT: Delegation to Rio Tinto headquarters and Rio Tinto Kennecott mine concurrent with an unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike at NFI/California Cartage Express, with ambulatory picketing at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Rio Tinto Mines in Boron, CA, and other customer locations to be announced.
WHERE: Rio Tinto Kennecott, 4700 Daybreak Parkway, South Jordan, Utah 84095
WHEN: Starting Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, at 7:00 a.m. MDT
"We're on strike because of NFI/Cal Cartage Express’ unfair labor practices. Those of us who have been fighting for justice are only receiving one month contracts versus the six month contracts others not involved in this fight are receiving. We're tired of being misclassified as independent contractors and working without the employee benefits and rights we deserve. We're asking customers of NFI/Cal Cartage, like Rio Tinto, to stop doing business with law breakers," said Jose Garcia, striking port truck driver, NFI/Cal Cartage Express.
BACKGROUND
NFI/Cal Cartage Express employs their drivers under an illegal scheme whereby they misclassify the workers as independent contractors when in fact they are employees under law. This unlawful practice, which was the subject of an investigative series published by USA Today, leads to massive wage theft and denial of other basic workers’ rights and has been heavily documented across the ports. This illegal practice, in addition to other lawbreaking at NFI Industries, makes NFI/California Cartage Express non-compliant with Rio Tinto’s supplier code of conduct.
Read the NFI Final and Pending Violations Summary here: http://bit.ly/NFICCX
These drivers, whom the company treats like employees but illegally classifies as “independent contractors,” have persistently fought for their rights in the courts, in the hallowed boardrooms of Rio Tinto Mines, and on the picket line at the ports. Specifically, CCX drivers have:
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Drissi Roars Back With Podium Finish At The Glen
Los Angeles, CA. - September 9, 2019 - Tomy ‘The Rockin' Moroccan’ Drissi wasted no time at all getting back amongst the leaders on his return to Trans Am competition this weekend as he notched his third podium finish of the season at the legendary Watkins Glen International. In a valiant bid to repeat his Trans Am win at the track in 2018, Drissi finished third after 30 laps racing at the upstate New York circuit, less than half a second behind rival Chris Dyson.
Drissi, the 2009 Trans Am Champion, had been sidelined for several weeks with a calf injury prior to The Glen, but he showed no signs of ring rustiness in practice. The No. 8 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet Camaro had the power and pace to match the fabulous livery right from the first practice, with Drissi third fastest with a 1:47:208.
In qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Drissi maintained his excellent record for the season of starting no further back than the second row of the grid, registering a best time of 1:47:050 on the second of his qualifying laps.
The race itself saw Drissi quickly move up to P3, from where the Angeleno pilot kept up relentless pressure on second placed Chris Dyson for the entire race. Drissi crossed the finish line just 0.424 seconds behind the Mustang driver, clocking a fastest lap of 1:47:602 on lap 24.
Speaking after the race, Tomy was quick to thank the team behind his great performance on the track, "Thank you so much to Lucas Oil. The Slick Mist car was really fast this weekend. We were competitive in all the sessions, however, I did make a mistake in qualifying, when I messed up a corner."
Of the race itself, he added, "I got a good start at the beginning of the race. Although these cars do not have any driving aids we do depend on the little bit of aero - having clean air makes a big difference. I was following Dyson very close nose-to-tail and he didn't make any mistakes. It was too risky to get a pass by on him. I think it softened me up playing basketball with his son Nick in the morning! He's a great kid."
Drissi was magnanimous as he congratulated Ernie Francis on his win, "Congrats to Ernie. He had a great race today. The fans were awesome and the spectator turn out was huge this weekend. We didn't repeat the win from last year but we are on to the next race now and thanks Burtin Racing - the car was so good! If we had clean air in the race the car would have been a bit faster."
Trans Am is returning to CBS Sports in the fall. The coverage will highlight events from the season with a focus on the races at Mid Ohio and Road America with a season review episode finale, "I wish this race would have been televised - great battles today!"
Trans Am returns to our screens September 15th at 5:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network. Next up on the track for Drissi and Trans Am is a trip to the Virginia International Raceway September 20 to 22. After such a fine comeback, we can expect another high performance drive from Tomy.
Follow Tomy Drissi online at tomydrissi.com and on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. @TomyDrissi and keep an eye on our social media for race weekend videos, updates and a look behind the scenes from the race track!
Website: www.tomydrissi.com
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Manchester, UK – 10th September 2019: IX Reach, the leading global provider of remote peering services and connectivity solutions, has announced its selection by Equinix, the global interconnection and data centre company, as its exclusive beta partner for Reseller Ports on Equinix Internet Exchange™ (IX).
Building upon its existing partnership with Equinix to offer global connectivity between its industry-leading data centres, this new partnership has enhanced their collaboration, and reinforced IX Reach’s reputation as the leading global provider of remote peering services.
Through this partnership, networks will be able to access a remote peering solution at Equinix’s London and Paris Internet Exchanges from any one of IX Reach’s 240+ points of presence (PoPs) without needing to invest in their own equipment or be present in the Equinix facilities.
“We are thrilled that IX Reach has been chosen as the exclusive beta partner for Reseller Ports on Equinix IX,” said Rebecca Lewis, Head of Partnerships EMEA at IX Reach. “We have worked closely with Equinix since 2007 and we’re pleased to be able to now offer alternative peering options in these two key European cities.”
Remote Peering at Equinix Internet Exchanges in London and Paris will enable networks to access unique ASNs not present at any other mainstream IXP and hand off traffic much closer to eyeballs, whilst improving the quality of the connection through a diverse network.
This new remote peering service will also offer a cost-effective element to the solution; networks will save money on transit costs as the blend will complement the dominant relationships of transit and peering.
Connecting via a single port in any one of IX Reach’s 240+ PoPs now enables customers unlimited and direct access to Equinix IX, as well as access to all of IX Reach’s other Internet Exchange partners, SDN Cloud Connect partners, and transport connectivity services.
About IX Reach
IX Reach is a global solutions provider offering SDN direct interconnection to all major cloud providers, remote peering at key Internet Exchanges, high-speed point-to-point/multipoint ethernet private line, IP BGP transit and colocation.
We offer a portfolio of cost effective network services enabling carriers, ISPs, content and service providers to quickly and easily increase their network footprint and connect to the cloud without the need to invest heavily in owned infrastructure.
Discover new markets and endless possibilities with IX Reach visit www.ixreach.com.
IX Reach is a BSO company: www.bsonetwork.com.
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Hi Dawn,
With Americans taking nearly 10 billion trips on public transportation every year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019's Cities with the Best & Worst Public Transportation as well as accompanying videos.
To determine the most driver-friendly places in the U.S., WalletHub compared 100 cities across 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of commuters who use public transit and average age of the fleet to number of injuries and peak hours spent in congestion.
Best Cities for Public Transportation
Worst Cities for Public Transportation
1
Seattle, WA
91
St. Louis, MO
2
Boston, MA
92
Baton Rouge, LA
3
San Francisco, CA
93
Arlington, TX
4
Washington, DC
94
Oklahoma City, OK
5
Madison, WI
95
Tulsa, OK
6
Jersey City, NJ
96
New Orleans, LA
7
New York, NY
97
Charlotte, NC
8
Reno, NV
98
Tampa, FL
9
Honolulu, HI
99
St. Petersburg, FL
10
Portland, OR
100
Indianapolis, IN
Best vs. Worst
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-best-public-transportation/65028/
