DENVER—In response to reports that President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to lead the Department of the Interior, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“This week, President-elect Trump told America he wants to follow in Teddy Roosevelt’s footsteps by conserving America’s parks and public lands. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, unfortunately, has shown little interest in the issues she would encounter on a daily basis as Secretary of the Interior.
“Before the Senate considers her nomination, the American people deserve to know where McMorris Rodgers stands on the issues facing our public lands today, particularly at a time when members of her party are encouraging the President-elect to take the unprecedented step of erasing national monuments from the map and selling off public lands.
“If Cathy McMorris Rodgers is confirmed, we hope she takes her new boss’s words seriously and follows in the conservation tradition of Teddy Roosevelt, not the robber barons who would have drilled, mined, and clear-cut their way across the West a century ago.”
In 2011, Cathy McMorris Rodgers was a co-sponsor of HR 1126, which would have sold off more than 3 million acres of public lands to private interests. This year, McMorris Rodgers voted against an amendment that would have prevented efforts to dispose of public lands outside of the established planning process. These positions should raise a red flag for anyone who values keeping our public lands public.
President-elect Trump this week promised to honor “the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, believe it or not, one of our great environmentalists.” When asked by a reporter earlier this year about proposals to “transfer” American public lands to states, Trump said, “I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don’t know what the state is going to do. I mean, are they going to sell if they get into a little bit of trouble? And I don’t think it’s something that should be sold. We have to be great stewards of this land.”
President-elect Trump’s statements are contradicted by the crusade by some members of Congress to dispose of public lands into state and private hands.
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Utah Budgeteer Honored with Steven D. Gold Award
Washington, D.C. – The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) presented Jonathan Ball, the chief budget staffer for the Utah Legislature, with the Steven D. Gold Award at NCSL’s Capitol Forum in Washington on Thursday.
The Gold Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of state and local finance, especially those that erase boundaries between academics and public policy.
“Jonathan exemplifies what the Gold Award is all about,” said NCSL Executive Director William Pound. “He strives to bridge the worlds of academia and government so that citizens enjoy thoughtful, informed and practical laws and programs.”
Ball is the director of Utah’s Legislative Fiscal Analyst and leads a team of 25 economists, accountants, financial analysts and support staff who help legislators craft the state budget each year. He has contributed to several academic publications, is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges and universities in Utah and regularly presents on budget issues for national organizations, including NCSL. He served as president of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices and the Western States Legislative Fiscal Officers Association. He is currently staff co-chair of NCSL’s Standing Committees and a member of the NCSL Executive Committee.
“Legislative staffers typically prefer to toil away in anonymity,” said Ball, “but this recognition is welcome and especially meaningful because it reflects what my team and I strive for on a daily basis – objective, accurate and relevant budget advice. I’m humbled and honored to receive it on behalf of my family, friends and colleagues without whom it would not have happened.”
The award was established in 1997 in the memory of Steven D. Gold, an accomplished economist, academic and public finance expert. Gold was an active member of NCSL, the National Tax Association and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. It is given each year by one of these organizations on a three-year rotation.
Since its inception, Ball is the second Utahn to receive the Gold Award. The National Tax Association presented it to Brigham Young University professor Gary Corina in 2006. It is the second national award Utah has been given for good fiscal management in recent months. Governing Magazine named Kristen Cox, budget director for Governor Gary Herbert, Public Servant of the Year in November.
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Mark Huntsman elected new chair of Utah State Board of Education Leadership team includes Terryl Warner, Brittney Cummins, Alisa Ellis as 3 vice chairs SALT LAKE CITY – Fillmore resident and businessman Mark Huntsman was elected Friday as the chair of the Utah State Board of Education for a one-year term beginning in January 2017. Huntsman, first elected to the State Board in 2014, will be joined by Terryl Warner, Brittney Cummins and Alisa Ellis as vice chairs, rounding out a leadership team with broad expertise and diverse knowledge. Huntsman is the senior vice president of Sunrise Engineering, Inc., a nationally recognized engineering firm with offices in multiple states. He has served as the vice chair of the board's Finance Committee and led the board's Superintendent Search Committee earlier this year. Prior to his service on the board, Huntsman served eight years on the Millard District School Board. He also co-operates a ranch in central Utah. "I am grateful for the support of my fellow board members and look forward to working with a unified board ready to take on the challenges of the coming year," Huntsman said. "I am very proud of the achievements of Utah teachers and students and will work with them and our other governing partners in the Governor's Office, Legislature, districts and schools, to lay the groundwork to make our schools even better." Terryl Warner, who represents far northern Utah's District 1, was elected as the first vice chair. The Hyrum resident was appointed to the board by Gov. Gary Herbert in early 2014 and won the seat in an election later that year. She works as a victim advocate in the Cache County Attorney's Office. West Valley City resident Brittney Cummins was elected as the second vice chair. She represents District 6, a pocket in west-central Salt Lake County. She was elected in 2014. Cummins is a trained secondary science teacher and holds a position on a charter school governing board. Alisa Ellis of Heber City will serve as the third vice chair. Elected last month to the board, Ellis will represent District 12, which encompasses parts of Utah and Summit counties, and Wasatch, Duchesne, Daggett and Uintah counties. Huntsman, Warner, Cummins and Ellis replace the outgoing leadership team of David Crandall, David Thomas, and Jennifer Johnson, who will not serve on the Board after this year. In total, eight of the 15 members of the board will not return in 2017. As per board bylaws, the eight newly elected members were allowed to vote along with the seven continuing members for the upcoming year's leadership team. Outgoing members did not vote.
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OTER FRAUD DO YOUR JOB:
US ATTORNEY GENERAL OBEY THE CONSTITUTION ITS YOUR JOB askdoj@usdoj.gov
US CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE OBEY THE CONSTITUTION IT YOUR JOB operations@govtrack.us
US FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION [FBI] OBEY THE CONSTITUTION ITS YOUR JOB charlotte.public@ic.fbi.gov
US IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT [ICE] OBEY-INFORCE THE CONSTITUTION ITS YOUR JOB publicaffairs.iceofficeof@dhs.gov
Predicting Destiny...
June 15, 2015 Donald Trump announced candidacy as President of our Constitutional Republic. From June 15 2015 toNovember 8, 2016, big-business, big-hollywood, big-media, and big-DC DINO-RINO Government Establishment House of Cards, all laughed, ridiculed, negative statements toward Trump and Family and those who supported him openly. Some might say the odds were definitely against the Donald and Friends.
These atheist-agnostic-socialist-progressive-liberal biggy fools, know nothing about predictions, even less about destiny...said Donald Trump candidacy, in their small minds, was a joke, wouldn’t reach 1st base. Those who spoke profusely against Trump were the hollywoodpecker fools all were wrong, barring Hollywood Conservatives who know good from bad, fortunately got it right, along with roughly 62 million valid voters, everyone else got it WRONG, roughly 62 million voters, of which, roughly 18 million illegal aliens registered democrat used fictitious and deceased ‘citizens’ names, all doublecriminal felonies by American Law VOTER FRAUD!
Actually, President [elect] Donald Trump won honesty with 306 electoral college votes and 62 million valid popular votes vs. Hillary Clinton lost honestly with -232 electoral college votes and 44 million valid popular votes! Honest... LANDSLIDE!
Predicting Destany emanates only from ONE ENTITY power to make them come to pass! WHO or What you ask? Good question. Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson Bible expert says ALMIGHTY GOD made reference to Donald Trump thousands of years ago...
Donald Trump in Hebrew literally means...Ruler, graced by GOD, descendent of a drummer [Germanic and Irish origin], bocher [in Hebrew: chosen or elected], Nasi [in Hebrew: president], Art zot ha Brit [in Hebrew: United States] ...On November 8, 2016 GOD made it so.
PRESS WHERE IT SAYS The Best below, to see and hear the hollywoodpecker naysayers and laugh at them while they slandered the 45th President of the United States chosen by our CREATOR. Most said they would leave USA, well...bon vo-yage baby!
We The People Freedom Now has shared a video with you on YouTube
The best compilation of people laughing at Trump and predicting he will NOT be President
©2016 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066
GOD, Family, Constitutional States and Republic, nothing more, nothing less, no deviations. Our CREATOR has given HIS chosen the last opportunity to return to accountability-honesty-integrity-morality-respect-responibility in accordance with THE TEX COMMANDS OF GOD, obedience, and choice of RIGHT or wrong, GOOD or evil, consequences UP or down on the scale of life and hereafter.
IN GOD WE TRUST...Always
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aastricht School of Management finalist for AMBA Innovation Award 2016
MAASTRICHT - Maastricht School of Management (MSM) has been shortlisted for the MBA Innovation Award 2016 issued by the Association of MBA’s (AMBA). Their prestigious Innovation Award is according to their website “a celebration of innovation and radical thinking in MBA delivery … and has been developed to recognize and reward brilliant new practices. It promotes the values of taking risks in pursuit of the new.” MSM is recognized for its innovation and willingness to take “risks in pursuit of the new”. In particular, MSM stands out for having promoted over many years female entrepreneurship across the world, but in particular in difficult contexts where entrepreneurship can act as a vehicle for female social mobility, empowerment and survival.
Second nomination!
MSM is honored to be nominated for a second time for this award. In 2014 MSM was also one of the finalists for the prestigious award. At that time, MSM was nominated for its innovative steps to promote the establishment and strengthening of business schools and MBA education in low-income countries, fragile states and transition economies. It is the first time ever that a Dutch business school has been nominated twice for this prestigious award.
About AMBA
The Association of MBAs, founded in 1967, is the impartial authority on postgraduate management education and is committed to raising its profile and quality standards internationally for the benefit of business schools, students and alumni and employers. AMBA is currently accrediting MBA, DBA and Master programs from the top 2% of business schools in over 70 countries.
About Maastricht School of Management
Founded in 1952, Maastricht School of Management (MSM) is one of the oldest and most international business schools in the Netherlands. MSM offers its education programs in management and entrepreneurship in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and – in collaboration with partner institutions - at several other locations worldwide. MSM is one of only 2% business schools in the world with the AMBA accreditation, and the only business school in the province of Limburg that offers NVAO-accredited MBA degrees.
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SENATE PASSES CAREER READY STUDENT VETERANS ACT
Legislation Headed to President’s Desk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Veterans Education Success (VES) today hailed the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage in the early hours of December 10, 2016, of the Career Ready Student Veterans Act, a bill VES proposed, helped draft, and pushed for, throughout 2015 and 2016. The U.S. House of Representatives had previously passed the bill, also unanimously, on February 9, 2016.
"In unanimous votes, every member of Congress agreed that veterans should be protected from education programs that are a waste of their time and their hard-earned GI Bill benefits,” VES Policy Director Walter Ochinko said. “With passage of this provision, degree programs that lack the accreditation needed for graduates to sit for licensure exams or obtain certifications won't be eligible to participate in the GI Bill.”
The bill solves a problem that VES policy director, Walter Ochinko, carefully documented in a 2015 report, "The GI Bill Pays For Degrees That Do Not Lead to a Job,” which found that 20% of 300 programs that were approved for GI Bill to train students for jobs in licensed occupations were, in fact, improperly accredited such that graduates were not eligible to even sit for required licensing exams or certification, and could not get hired in their promised field of study. The report documented examples of improperly accredited programs in licensed occupations, such as nursing and law, which were approved for the GI Bill, violating common sense and wasting veterans’ time and their hard-earned GI Bill benefits. The report identified 8 programs of study, offered at 60 campuses by 15 different schools (both online and brick and mortar) that left graduates ineligible to work. These programs failed to meet employer or state requirements, leaving the graduates ineligible to work in their field of study. All in all, these amounted to 20% of VA-approved programs in such licensed occupations examined by VES. Ochinko presented his report to the House Veterans Affairs Committee in June 2015 and testified about the report before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Members in September 2015.
“These unanimous votes prove that common sense can prevail in Washington,” said Veterans Education Success President Carrie Wofford. “Every Member of Congress voted to end the ridiculous practice of approving GI Bill for improperly accredited programs. Accreditation matters, especially when it comes to training veterans for jobs that require a license or certification.”
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Acting Ranking Member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, and an original sponsor of the bill, said: “The Career Ready Student Veterans Act is an important step toward ensuring that every veteran gets the most out of their GI Bill benefits. I'm grateful that Congress acted on a bipartisan basis to protect student veterans from schools that often leave them in crippling debt and with few job opportunities. There is still significant work we must do to defend the GI Bill from schools that fail to meet students' needs. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the next Congress to address this challenge, which affects thousands of veterans every year.”
Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and an original sponsor of the bill, said: "Our veterans risked their lives to protect our freedoms as Americans. This good-faith policy ensures they earn an education that will help them enter the civilian workforce and provide the opportunity to seek employment that will put them on a path toward a successful career. I am proud to work with Senator Blumenthal to ensure GI Bill education benefits are put toward accredited continuing education programs. Our nation's heroes deserve only the best."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-NC), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and an original sponsor of the bill, said: “Federal funding for substandard education programs is a disservice to veterans as well as taxpayers. Our nation’s heroes deserve the best—not the dregs of the American education system. This provision in the landmark Miller-Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act will help protect veterans from slick pitches that lure them into squandering GI Bill benefits on worthless degrees from unaccredited education programs – helping them pursue legitimate education and employment opportunities.”
Included in the 2015 VES report were testimonials from veterans who found out after the fact that their degrees did not lead to a job:
"I was told when I attended [Colorado Technical University in 2013] that any [police] department would accept their degree. Upon asking someone I knew that worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections, I was informed they do not and that they only accepted degrees from traditionally accredited universities."
"I was assured [by Colorado Technical University] that everything was correct and I'd get my degree [in medical billing and coding]. They said they are accredited which is how the GI Bill is paying for it. During my LAST class for my associates degree, I found out that we can't get certified in a few different levels including the highest level which is actually required by most major medical facilities. It's a useless degree."
“I could have tried to transfer, but I had heard from many sources that [Concord School of Law at Kaplan University] credits rarely transferred. The most important bit of knowledge I gained during this time was from a one-term adjunct instructor, who, when I told her of my plan to continue my education through Concord Law School, informed me that the school was not recognized in Iowa for taking the Bar exam. That information was eye opening. The Dean apparently didn't know or forgot to mention this little problem with Concord.”
The Career Ready Student Veterans Act amends Chapter 36 of Title 38 to require both accredited and non-accredited programs that are designed to prepare an individual for licensure or certification in a state to meet any instructional curriculum licensure or certification requirements of the state in order to be approved for purposes of VA education benefits. It would also require programs designed to prepare an individual for employment pursuant to standards developed by a board or agency of a state in an occupation that requires approval or licensure to be approved or licensed by the board or agency of the state, in order to be approved for purposes of VA education benefits. It would also require that any course of education designed to prepare a student for licensure to practice law be accredited by a recognized party. It would add a new subsection (f) to Section 3676, providing that the Secretary would be authorized to waive either of those requirements in certain circumstances and would add specific criteria for disapproving such courses in Section 3679 of Title 38. This section would not apply to individuals continuously enrolled in a course if that course is later disapproved pursuant to this section.
The Career Ready Student Veterans Act also brings the GI Bill into alignment with the Tuition Assistance program at the U.S. Department of Defense, which operates under a similar requirement, 10 U.S.C. 2006a, signed into law Dec. 26, 2013, as section 541 of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act.
The Career Ready Student Veterans Act was passed as part of a larger package of 76 bipartisan provisions to improve veterans’ education, health, disability, and claims processing entitled the Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 (H.R.6416). This larger package of bills incorporates language from a number of previously introduced House and Senate bills, including several provisions from the Veterans First Act, which unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in May 2016. A section-by-section summary of the H.R.6416 is available here. The Career Ready Student Veterans Act is section 409 of H.R. 6416.
Regarding the larger package of bills, U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-GA) said in a statement released by his office: “I am proud that the Senate has acted on this legislation to help our veterans. Regardless of political party, we are showing our veterans that we are on the same team when it comes to getting things right for them. With today’s vote, we are demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that our veterans receive what was promised to them and their families. This legislation will improve veterans’ access to health care and benefits and is an important down payment on the debt that we owe to the veterans of the United States of America.”
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ime for the "COOLEST" Event of the Year!
Special Olympics Utah is excited to announce the dates of the 2017 Polar Plunges!
Individuals and groups plunge into freezing water to raise funds and awareness for children and adults with intellectual disabilities served by Special Olympics Utah.
DATE
TIME
LOCATION
Saturday, January 7th
8:30 AM - Registration &
Pre-Plunge Party
10 AM - "Lazy River" Polar Plunge
Seven Peaks Water Park - Provo
1330 East 300 North
Provo
Saturday, January 21st
8:30 AM - Registration &
Pre-Plunge Party
10 AM - Polar Plunge
North Shore Aquatic Center
245 East 2550 North
No. Ogden
Saturday, February 4th
8:30 AM - Registration
& Pre-Plunge Party
10 AM - Polar Plunge
Sheraton SLC Hotel
150 West 500 South
Salt Lake City
Saturday, February 11th
8:30 AM - Registration
& Pre-Plunge Party
10 AM - Polar Plunge
Cedar City Aquatic Center
2090 W. Royal Hunte Drive
Cedar City
Saturday, February 18th
8:30 AM - Registration & Sheriff's Breakfast
10 AM - Polar Plunge
St. George City Pool
250 East 700 South
St. George
Who can plunge?
Students, corporate groups, SOUT athletes... any warm-hearted soul can join the "cool" crowd to show their support for Special Olympics Utah.
How do I register to plunge?
Go to www.firstgiving.com/SOUT and select your Polar Plunge event. Plungers who register in advance online receive an official 2017 Polar Plunge t-shirt. Day of registration is available, but plungers are not guaranteed a shirt.
What is the minimum donated required?
Adult Plungers: Pay $10 registration fee, raise or pay a min. of $40 to plunge
Student & Athlete Plungers: Pay $10 registration fee, raise or pay a min. of $20 to plunge
