UW Regents approve 23% increase to president's pay scale, Cross won't accept a raise
The new scale puts the UW System President's maximum salary at $734,000. He currently makes $525,000 and does not plan to accept any raises.
UW Regents approve 23% increase to president's pay scale, Cross won't accept a raise The new scale puts the UW System President's maximum salary at $734,000. He currently makes $525,000 and does not plan to accept any raises. Check out this story on jsonline.com: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2019/04/05/uw-regents-approve-23-raise-presidents-pay-scale/3377221002/
Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 1:25 p.m. CT April 5, 2019 | Updated 1:59 p.m. CT April 5, 2019
UW System President Ray Cross. (Photo: Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
MADISON - The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a 23% increase in the pay scale for the System president, Ray Cross, effective July 1.
Cross has refused to accept salary raises since his hiring in 2014, System spokesman Mark Pitsch said. Cross earns $525,000 annually.
The unanimous approval of the president's new pay scale came after a review of the salary ranges for leaders of other university systems, including public university systems in California, Texas, Maryland and North Carolina.
The new pay scale ranges from $489,334 to $734,000. That's up from a minimum of $399,000 and a maximum of $598,500.
DATABASE: University of Wisconsin System coach, professor salaries (2017-18)
RELATED: Two UW chancellors in hot water denied raises, while others divide $272,174 in pay increases
RELATED: Gov. Tony Evers’ higher education budget would continue tuition freeze for UW System
The board also approved 2% raise for system employees in the Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin.
Last year, the board approved a plan to raise all UW System employees wages by 3% over each of the next two fiscal years. Gov. Tony Evers proposed a 2% raise per year over the next two years in his budget.
Contact Devi Shastri at 920-996-7207 or DAShastri@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DeviShastri.
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What Is The Food System?
Food System Challenges
How can we improve the Food System?
Influencing Food System Policy
Study at Oxford
Producing sustainable, nutritious food
The food system is a complex web of activities involving the production, processing, transport, and consumption. Issues concerning the food system include the governance and economics of food production, its sustainability, the degree to which we waste food, how food production affects the natural environment and the impact of food on individual and population health.
Today world agriculture is facing major challenges, including how to feed a growing world population, how to reduce rural poverty in the world, and how to manage ecosystem goods and services in light of global environmental change. Traditionally, components of modern production and consumption systems have been assessed or analysed in studies to improve the efficiency of a particular element or activity, based on the assumption that this will also improve the efficiency of the whole system. However, over the last few decades it has become clear that a more holistic framework is needed to address these complex issues. As a result, a food systems approach has been widely adopted to identify, analyse and assess the impact and feedback of the systems different actors, activities and outcomes to help identify intervention points for enhancing food security.
The food system therefore includes not only the basic elements of how we get our food from farm to fork, but also all of the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population. Systems can also exist within systems, for example, farming systems, agricultural ecosystems, economic systems, and social systems and within those are further subsets of water systems, energy systems, financing systems, marketing systems, policy systems, culinary systems, and so on.
Population health is also a key factor in addressing food systems challenges, especially as nutrition-related chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some forms of cancer are major contributors to the global burden of disease.
In order to plan sustainable, equitable, and healthy food systems for the future we require integrated and innovative analytical methods and approaches from a range of disciplines, as well as effective intersectoral policy analysis and multi stakeholder engagement.
The food system and its drivers. Adapted from Ericksen 2008
Godfray H.C. et al. 2018. Meat Consumption, Health And The Environment. Science July 2018, Vol. 361, Issue 6399, Eaam5324
Tendall, D.M. et al. 2015. Food System Resilience Defining the Concept. Global Food Security, 6, 17-23
Ingram, J.S.I. et al. 2013. Priority research questions for the UK food system. Food Security, 5: 617-636
Ericksen, P. J. 2008. Conceptualizing food systems for global environmental change research. Global Environmental Change, 18, 234–245
Previous: About the Future of Food Programme Next: What are the challenges facing the food system?
Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food
c/o Oxford Martin School
Oxford, OX1 3BD
futureoffood@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk
@oxfutureoffood


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Scarfskerry
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Scarfskerry One plot £12,000, Two plots £22,000 or ALL Four £40,000
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4 Plots Available One Plot - £12,000 / Two Plots - £22,000 / ALL Four Plots - £40,000 Plots for sale in the popular coastal hamlet of Scarfskerry. Each plot has planning in principle for a house with garage and access road. The plots are approximately two thirds of an acre in size and all plots are accessed directly off the public road. Mains water and power supplies are nearby and a private drainage system will need to be installed on each plot. The plots are situated on a scenic route. Scarfskerry boasts an attractive harbour and offers coastal walks along virtually the entire length of the shoreline. To the western end there is a quiet beach. Bus services pass through the village and there is a hotel and small shop in the adjacent village of Mey. Crossroads Primary School is just over a mile away.
Nearby is the Castle of Mey which was built between 1566 and 1572 by George, the fourth Earl of Caithness, it became the family home of Sinclair of Mey. In 1789 the elder line of the Mey family became extinct and for a century it was the seat of the local earldom. It was in a state of some decay when the Queen Mother bought it in 1952, shortly after the death of King George Vl. The building was restored and was now the Queen mother's Highland holiday home until her death. The village of Dunnet approx 4 miles away offers local facilities to include, a hotel and the village hall, which accommodates a wide range of community activities such as badminton, playgroup, indoor bowls and aerobics as does the Mey village hall. For outdoor interest, and within easy walking distance, the area offers access to the beautiful Dunnet Sands and SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage) Nature Reserve, Dunnet Forest (now a Trust under the control of the local community), and Brown Trout fishing at St. Johns Loch. There is a bus service to the local schools, to Thurso and to John O’Groats. John O’ Groats is one of the best-known places in Scotland, and is very much a focal point for tourism is approx 9 miles drive away and has two hotels, guest house, campsite, numerous B&B establishments and a number of craft shops and studios. It is an ideal location for the Gills Bay and John O Groats Ferries across the Pentland Firth to Orkney. From Wick and Thurso there are regular bus and rail services to Inverness with connections onwards and from Wick airport there are regular scheduled services to Aberdeen with connections south, London being approximately two hours flying time. Inverness is approximately two hours drive. Details of the planning can be obtain from the Highland Council reference number 11/01662/PIP or downloaded from our website, www.pollardmortgageshop.co.uk
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African Countries Call For UN Ban On Female Genital Mutilation
Lawmakers from 27 African countries ended a two-day conference in the Senegalese capital of Dakar on Tuesday, where they pushed for a United Nations ban on female genital mutilation, or FGM. Parliamentarians, civil society activists and government representatives called for the adoption of a resolution that explicitly bans FGM as a practice that is contrary to human rights.
The Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Female Genital Mutilation aimed to help put together legal mechanisms for the eradication of FGM in Africa.
Most countries in Africa have signed treaties and conventions on FGM, but they failed to implement or enforce those laws.
During this week's two-day conference, parliamentarians from across the continent discussed and shared common information about international and national legislation regarding FGM, and how to solidify and enforce them.
Also present at the conference were lawmakers from the European Union, one of the biggest partners of African countries and groups fighting for the eradication of FGM.
"Human rights and women's rights have no boundaries," said Emma Bonino, a Vice President of the Italian Senate and former EU Commissioner for Health.
"This is a tradition that has been globalised [...] so I think that implies a sense of responsibility, both from north and south. Simply, this is a universal issue."
The campaign against FGM is still seen in many African societies as an attack by the Western world on African cultural values.
It will certainly take a long time, and a tough fight, before the practice is eradicated on the continent.
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(1) As part of the conditional use approval process under ORS 215.296 (Standards for approval of certain uses in exclusive farm use zones), for the purpose of verifying the existence, continuity and nature of the business described in ORS 215.213 (Uses permitted in exclusive farm use zones in counties that adopted marginal lands system prior to 1993) (2)(w) or 215.283 (Uses permitted in exclusive farm use zones in nonmarginal lands counties) (2)(y), representatives of the business may apply to the county and submit evidence including, but not limited to, sworn affidavits or other documentary evidence that the business qualifies.
(2) Alteration, restoration or replacement of a use authorized in ORS 215.213 (Uses permitted in exclusive farm use zones in counties that adopted marginal lands system prior to 1993) (2)(w) or 215.283 (Uses permitted in exclusive farm use zones in nonmarginal lands counties) (2)(y) may be altered, restored or replaced pursuant to ORS 215.130 (Application of ordinances and comprehensive plan) (5), (6) and (9). [2003 c.247 §4]
Note: 215.297 (Verifying continuity for approval of certain uses in exclusive farm use zones) was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 215 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.


Japanese reflect as sun sets on country"s 30-year Heiblack and gold wristbandssei era
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Japanese Prime Minister Abe speaks at a press conference in the city of Ise, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan 4, 2019. [Photo/IC]
With the winding down of Japan"s Heisei era－the period following the accession of Emperor Akihito in 1989－many Japanese have begun to attempt to define their own, and the country"s, past 30 years.
The curtain will fall on the era when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, the day after his father"s abdication.
When Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun conducted a survey in the country－asking "What kind of era is the Heisei?"－only 5 percent of respondents said it"s been "bright", with 42 percent believing the era was "tumultuous" and 29 percent saying it was "stagnant".
Daichi Baba, who was born in the first year of the Heisei, which translates as "peaceful and fruitful", said he is a member of what many have called a "lost generation".
The 30-year-old said that since they grew up in a time when the economy was sluggish, many from his generation are conservative.
"Many of my classmates yearn for a job in big companies or work as civil servants, because the "bubble economy" cut our parents" income almost by half. We are all looking for stable jobs, instead of taking any risk," Baba said.
In the initial years of the Heisei period, Japan"s economic status was that of the world"s second-largest economy and Asia"s only economic power. But this started to fade with the collapse of the "bubble economy" in the early 1990s, and the country"s self-confidence ebbed in the ensuing "lost decades"－around 20 years of economic stagnation.
Huang Dahui, a researcher of East Asian Studies at Renmin University of China, said the Heisei era has marked a dramatic change in Japan"s regional status.
"Japan"s unchallenged pre-eminence is a thing of the past. Over the past 20 or 30 years, many emerging Asian economies have closed the gap. In this sense, after a century as East Asia"s unchallenged economic and industrial leader, Japan has become just one of several important regional powers."
He added that this created a "feeling of loss" in the Japanese people and their government during the Heisei era, which tended to make Japanese during this period more conservative.
In addition, Japan"s population has been shrinking in the past 30 years and is aging, and some analysts cite fewer job opportunities for young people in the country"s economy. The low birth rate will threaten the country"s future development, analysts said.
Meanwhile, as globalization sweeps the world, Japanese companies have come to depend more on cheaper, nonpermanent employees, which analysts said has expanded wealth inequality and further fragmented Japanese society.
The Heisei period has also been marked by great political instability. Japanese cabinets have been short-lived in the era, with 17 men occupying the prime minister"s office, from Noboru Takeshita, who was in office when the Heisei era began, to the second incarnation of Shinzo Abe"s administration, which is currently in power.
Researcher Huang said it is worth noting that Abe"s campaign slogan "restore Japan" has shown a longing for the "better" times of yesteryear in Japanese society. However, he added, it seems Japan is restoring more than the previous glory of economic achievement.
"The Japanese government was ambitious and gradually re-emerged as a military power in the Heisei era, as it hopes to get rid of the impact of World War II," Huang said.
On July 1, 2014, the Japanese government announced a revision of the country"s defense policy, lifting the ban on the country presuming "an inherent right to collective self-defense", he said.
The changes extend Japanese security policy well beyond the constraints in place throughout Japan"s postwar history, he added.
Analysts said the country is heading in a dangerous direction and is seeking new defense capabilities that exceed the limits of its pacifist Constitution.
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United States Senator from New York
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand (born December 9, 1966) is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from New York since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 20th congressional district.
Assumed office
Serving with Chuck Schumer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th district
John E. Sweeney
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik
(1966-12-09) December 9, 1966 (age 53)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Jonathan Gillibrand (m. 2001)
Theodore Gillibrand (b. 2003)
Henry Gillibrand (b. 2008)
Brunswick, New York
Dartmouth College (B.A.)
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (J.D.)
Senate Website
Campaign Website
In January 2019, Gillibrand announced her plans to run for President of the United States in the 2020 election.[1] She made a formal announcement on March 17, 2019.[2] She ended her campaign on August 28, 2019.
1 United States Senator (since 2009)
2 2020 presidential campaign
United States Senator (since 2009)Edit
On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced Hillary Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, as Secretary of State. Clinton was confirmed and resigned her senate seat. The announcement began a two-month search process to fill her empty Senate seat.[3] Under New York law, the governor appoints a replacement. A special election would then be held in November 2010 for the remainder of the full term, which ended in January 2013.[4] Governor David Paterson picked Gillibrand on January 23, 2009.[5]
Gillibrand has moved her political positions and ideology toward a liberal, progressive position since her appointment to the Senate.[6][7] Gillibrand was an important part of the successful campaign to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".[8] In March 2011, Gillibrand co-sponsored the PROTECT IP Act, which would restrict access to web sites judged to be infringing copyrights.[9] In 2013, Gillibrand proposed the unsuccessful legislation that would remove sexual assault cases from the military chain of command; the bill was cosponsored by Republican senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.[10]
In November 2017, Gillibrand made national news when she said that President Bill Clinton should have resigned from office when his affair with Monica Lewinsky was revealed.[11]
2020 presidential campaignEdit
Main article: Kirsten Gillibrand 2020 presidential campaign
In January 2019, Gillibrand announced that she is formally exploring a run for President of the United States in the 2020 election while on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[1] The next day, Gillibrand announced her candidacy for President.[12] She made it official on March 17, 2019. After failing to qualify for the third debate in September, Gillibrand ended her campaign on August 28, 2019.[13]
Gillibrand was born on December 9, 1966 in Albany, New York.[14] She studied at Dartmouth College and the University of California, Los Angeles. Gillibrand has been married to Jonathan Gillibrand since 2001. They have two children.
↑ 1.0 1.1 O'Reilly, Andrew (January 14, 2019). "Gillibrand to announce presidential bid during appearance on 'Colbert' show, report says". Fox News.
↑ https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand/status/1107235330992812032
↑ Hernandez, Javier C.; Danny Hakim; Nicholas Confessore (January 23, 2009). "Paterson Announces Choice of Gillibrand for Senate Seat". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
↑ Seiler, Casey; with wire reports (December 2, 2008). "From Foe to Secretary of State". Times Union. Albany: Hearst Newspapers. p. A1. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
↑ Silverleib, Alan (January 23, 2009). "N.Y. Governor Names Clinton Successor". Cable New Network (CNN). Archived from the original on November 4, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2011. Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (help)
↑ url=http://www.msnbc.com/the-cycle/the-flip-flopping-nature-kirsten-gillibran
↑ Malone, Clare (December 21, 2017). "What Is Kirsten Gillibrand Up To?". Retrieved October 7, 2018.
↑ "What 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' did for Kirsten Gillibrand" Archived March 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Capital New York, Steve Kornacki, December 20, 2010
↑ Bill Summary & Status 112th Congress (2011–2012), "S.968 Cosponsors", Bill Summary & Status Archived September 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
↑ Samuelsohn, Darren (July 16, 2013). "Rand Paul, Ted Cruz join Kirsten Gillibrand push on military sexual assault". Politico. Politico, LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (November 16, 2017). "Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Lewinsky Affair, Kirsten Gillibrand Says". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
↑ "Kirsten Gillibrand announces 2020 presidential bid". CBS. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
↑ Will Weissert (August 28, 2019). "Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ends once-promising presidential bid". Associated Press. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
↑ Tumulty, Karen (January 23, 2009). "Kirsten Gillibrand". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kirsten Gillibrand
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirsten Gillibrand.
United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand official U.S. Senate site
United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand official YouTube channel
Gillibrand for Senate official campaign site
Gillibrand for Senate official YouTube channel
Campaign contributions made by Kirsten Gillibrand
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kirsten_Gillibrand&oldid=6649557"


Reviews » DVD Video Reviews » Mr. Vampire (Remastered)
Mr. Vampire (Remastered)
International - Yesasia.com // Unrated // June 22, 2005 // Region 0
List Price: $15.49 [Buy now and save at Hkflix]
Review by Carl Davis | posted July 29, 2005 | E-mail the Author
Mr. Vampire (1985) is nothing short of a Hong Kong classic, an Old School action comedy with a generous dose of horror to boot. Produced by the legendary Sammo Hung, it arrived on the scene in time to signal the renewed vigor of the Hong Kong film industry, released the same year as Jackie Chan's Police Story and predating John Woo's A Better Tomorrow which would really kick things into high gear. Director Ricky Lau states in an interview on the disc that stakes were high as the film's budget skyrocketed during production and would need to recoup a lot at the box-office. As it turned out, the film did so well that it spawned so many sequels and imitators (including Mr. Vampire 2), each of varying degrees of quality, which was even impressive by Hong Kong standards.
Taoist sifu (teacher) Gau (the amazing Lam Ching-Ying) has been asked by the wealthy Yam family to rebury their patriarch, as poor "feng shui" is depleting their fortune. Upon unearthing the old fellow, it seems that 20 years spent underground has had no ill effects upon the corpse, except for its razor sharp blue fingernails and its insatiable lust for blood. That's right, the elder Yam has turned into a vampire. Gau realizes this and entrusts his assistants to affix various spells and charms on the casket to prevent the monster from getting loose. As the film demonstrates, the placement of parchment bearing spells, or even symbols drawn in blood, on the creatures' foreheads paralyze them instantly. But Gau's assistants, Choi and Chou, are a couple of bumblers who make a crucial mistake that releases the undead Yam.
Choi gets himself bitten by the ill tempered ghoul and must then dance on sticky rice to try and draw out the vampirism. Meanwhile his partner-in-crime Choi is seduced by a ghostly vixen and as if that's not bad enough, once dead bodies start turning up a dim-witted constable arrests Gau under suspicion of murder. After an absolutely hilarious and breathtaking fight scene in the jailhouse, Gau's name is cleared and he can get back to saving his assistants and putting the elder Yam to rest… for good. In order to do this, he must first face the female ghost who's bewitched Chou. During their climactic showdown sifu Gau, in true Hong Kong fashion, even has to fight her disembodied head. The finale includes more hopping ghouls, spiritual kung-fu, slapstick comedy and hair-raising predicaments than any ten films combined and still packs one helluva punch even after 20 years.
It's amazing how well this film has withstood the test of time. While much of the physical humor and stunts will always be timeless, even the crude wirework and physical effects look good in this age of "bullet time" and ever increasing CGI special effects. Lam Ching-Ying's amazing physical presence on screen also plays a big part in the films popularity, although Lam himself felt typecast by the role of Gau, playing similar characters (in no less than eight sequels and knock-offs of Mr. Vampire) in close to 15 films before his untimely death, at the age of 45, from liver cancer in 1997.
The DVD:
Picture: This is the digitally remastered edition and it clearly shows. Fortune Star released both versions of this film and have greatly improved upon every aspect of this edition. The film is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The print looks like it could have been struck yesterday, with a clean, clear picture and rich colors. There is a little grain, but that is probably due to the type of film stock used.
Audio: There are four audio tracks included on this DVD. A Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track, a Cantonese DTS track, a Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track and the original Cantonese 2.0 Stereo track. I listened to the Cantonese 5.1 track and it was phenomenal. The dialogue and sound effects were crisp and the music was very atmospheric and sounded better than ever.
Extras: Extras include an interview with Director Ricky Lau, a photo gallery and two trailers for the film: the remastered theatrical trailer and a newly edited "Americanized" trailer, which is much shorter.
Conclusion: It's about time that this keystone of '80s Hong Kong cinema finally received the DVD treatment it deserved. While it was great to have the film in all it's restored glory, as well as the insightful interview with Ricky Lau, I still wished that Fortune Star could have gotten their hands on some of the other extras I've seen floating around for this release. Specifically I am talking about a video tribute piece to Lam Ching-Ying that Sammo Hung and Chin Siu-ho produced and has been included on other releases of this film. That's just nitpicking though, as this presentation is just the thing to please longtime fans of the film and attract the curious. Highly Recommended.
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The-Bon-Jovi-Experience
Fri 28 Feb, The Place Telford
Ranked number 14 in Q Magazine’s top 50 bands of all time and inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, Bon Jovi is a household name the world over. With front man and namesake Jon Bon Jovi at the helm since they formed back in 1983, the New Jersey band have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, performing more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for 34 million fans and counting.
In tribute to this incredible musical talent, The Bon Jovi Experience was born and since 1994 have become the only band to have performed live on stage with Jon Bon Jovi himself. Lead singer Tony Pearce’s striking resemblance to the original front man creates an unrivalled tribute not to be missed.
Endorsed by Jon Bon Jovi himself, the official tribute band to Bon Jovi perform all over the world to sell-out crowds. As the world’s leading tribute, The Bon Jovi Experience are often copied but never equalled, performing all the hits you know and love including, “Livin’ On a Prayer”, “Always”, “It’s My Life”, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, and many, many more.
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Building a Solidarity Economy in Jackson, Mississippi
Members of Cooperation Jackson take a break from working in near 100 degree heat.Photo: Courtesy.
Cheree Franco Oct 2, 2019
The sun beats down on a mostly unoccupied shopping complex, surrounded by food banks and homeless shelters. On a Saturday afternoon in mid-August, temperatures in Jackson, Mississippi near 38° C. The complex has a Dollar General full of packaged snacks, which is the closest thing to a grocery in this food desert of a neighborhood. Next to it, a large empty space was, until recently, an actual grocery. Jackson Cash & Carry was one of the last black-owned groceries in the United States until its owner couldn’t come up with the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for building repairs. (Historically, Mississippi banks hesitate to loan to black business owners.)
But on this day, the recently renamed Ida B. Wells Plaza is more active than usual. A local nonprofit, Cooperation Jackson, purchased the complex, commissioned a mural of Wells — a prominent 19th-century black feminist and journalist — and is hosting a Black August celebration in the parking lot. Black August is a liberation movement, started in California prisons in the 1970s, to commemorate martyrs and imprisoned African-American revolutionaries.
Kids tumble around an inflatable bounce house, while young men cook batches of chicken and burgers on backyard grills. Vendors sell jewelry and artists stir paint, which turns watery in the heat. In a few weeks, an entire wall will be covered in fresh murals.
Inside the cavernous former grocery, which still bears vintage signs denoting “Smoked Meats” and “Bakery,” workers from Freedom Farms sell greens, melons and herbs.
Freedom Farms is one of the cooperatives formed under the umbrella of Cooperation Jackson. The organization’s ultimate goal is to create a federation of worker-owned cooperatives, in addition to a cooperative incubator, a cooperative financial institution, and an eco-village built on a community land trust. Inspired by the black-collectivism and self-deterministic vision of NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Dubois, the survival programs of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and the Zapatista movement for indigenous rights, Cooperation Jackson’s goal is to form a solidarity economy that values all contributions equally, regardless of race, gender and class.
Cooperation Jackson is only five years old, but the vision behind it is older. The original founders met through another organization focused on Black Liberation, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. They began to strategize to build a community of cooperatives in 2001, while many still lived in disparate parts of the country. Eventually, they chose to launch their participatory democracy project in Jackson, Mississippi. With a population of 165,000, eighty-one percent of which is black, Jackson is the capital city of the blackest and poorest state in the U.S.
Prior to the Civil War, Mississippi was one of the wealthiest states. That wealth was rooted in agriculture and built on slavery. Over the past century and a half, Mississippi has become famous for its musical, literary, and Civil Rights contributions and infamous for its racist politicians, lynchings and poverty.
“Jackson is a place that, with our limited energy and resources, we felt we could have an impact,” says a Cooperation Jackson founder, Kali Akuno. “There’s a rich history of struggle that’s already here and a high level of Black autonomous infrastructure.”
From 2008 to 2013, Cooperation Jackson founders began to concentrate in Jackson from throughout the city, state and around the country and purchase land, which they folded into a community land trust. Cooperation Jackson owns about three hectares, although they expect to receive a donation of 12 more soon — land they hope to plant with industrial hemp and bamboo for building materials.
“The long term plan is to create a series of models that can be used to build deeply affordable housing with locally sourced materials,” says Akuno. “Hemp can be flattened, reinforced, made into bricks.” By mid-2020, they plan to build their first model hemp house, using the 3-D printer in their collectively-owned Center for Community Production. Over the next few years, they want to create an eco-village full of hemp houses, which people can purchase with sweat equity and time-banking. They also plan to build compost toilets, install solar panels, recycle greywater and keep everything as off-grid as possible. The yards of these model homes will be planted with edibles.
Much of the land Cooperation Jackson owns is along a once-residential street, now lined with concrete steps that no longer lead to porches. The houses were so far gone that they’ve been demolished. But the co-op owns three livable houses, housing members, and it is currently renovating two more. One of them will be a guest-house to host representatives from other co-ops and volunteer laborers. The other will be a safe house for LGBTQ community members who have nowhere to go.
Jackson has a 29-percent poverty rate. According to Allison Cox, the Deputy Director of Jackson Housing Authority, which oversees public housing for low-income residents, there are hundreds of people waiting for housing vouchers. The department hasn’t been able to move anyone from its waiting list since 2008. The city currently offers vouchers to about 7,000 residents.
A minimum wage worker logging 40 hours a week earns $290. Median rent in Jackson is $800 a month. This means rent often costs well over half of monthly earnings.
In the U.S., one of the most common incentives for affordable housing is tax breaks, offered to for-profit developers. This model sets rent prices based around the area’s median-income, often charging 20 percent of that income. This means “low-income” housing is still out of reach for the poorest families.
This model is also short-sighted since affordable housing requirements usually expire 15 years after a tax incentive. When they expire, affordable units usually revert to market rates. The tax incentive model is strongly grounded in capitalism. Developers offer affordable units in up-and-coming markets. The new residents help develop the market, driving up market rates, so that when the requirements expire, the developers make a profit.
The community land trust (CLT) model is based on the collective, nonprofit stewardship of the land. Individuals may own structures on the land, but the land itself belongs to the trust. The individual is only allowed to sell these structures pursuant to the terms established by the trust, which keeps the land and structures permanently affordable.
“The CLT model says property prices shouldn’t go up and down. You shouldn’t get a windfall just because you own property,” says Andy Frame, executive director with Revitalize Mississippi, another organization seeking to establish a community land trust in Jackson. “If people come in and buy property at a tax sale, but don’t live in the community and invest in the property, they’re hurting everybody around them.”
Jason Webb, with Grounded Solutions — a national network of community land trusts — believes that eventually even the most blighted communities will gentrify. “Once it starts happening, you have very few tools to slow it down,” he says.
Community land trusts remove land from the speculative market, often while it’s still affordable. Webb helped Cooperation Jackson develop a business plan. “Conditions in West Jackson, where you have a lot of vacant land and abandoned structures, are perfect for a CLT. Probably nowhere else in the US could you buy that much land, with that small amount of money,” Webb says.
But housing is only part of Cooperation Jackson’s mission.
Eventually, Cooperation Jackson wants to establish many worker-owned businesses. They operate a cooperative incubator in the Balagoon Center (named for Kuwasi Balagoon, a queer tenant organizer, anarchist and Black Panther), where they also have administrative offices and monthly member meetings.
Cooperation Jackson already has three worker-owned cooperatives. The Green Team is a lawn care business that composts its clippings. At Freedom Farms, workers grow organic vegetables that are distributed to members and the community and sold at farmers’ markets. The Center for Community Production operates a traditional printing business while working to increase its capacity to print more complex materials for housing, playgrounds and whatever else the cooperative needs. Making things locally is a way for Cooperation Jackson to cut carbon emissions from the transport of goods. The co-op also plans to reopen the grocery store in Ida B. Wells Plaza, to hire its former owner, and to stock the shelves with produce from Freedom Farms.
“We want to create a movement throughout the state of Mississippi,” says Akuno. “We want people to use our model in other cities to create a whole different type of solidarity and exchange economy, which enables people who are money-poor, but skilled and time-rich, to get their needs met.”
When asked about their greatest success thus far, founder Sacajawea Hall is blunt. “We’re still here,” she says.
There have been learning curves. Originally, Cooperation Jackson was trying to work through established channels of government. They selected and campaigned for candidates they thought were committed to a similar view of economic democracy. But this began to seem like an ineffective distraction and at best, a short-term remedy. The co-op collectively decided to distance itself from the city administration, which its members were largely responsible for electing.
There have been challenges even among members, in regards to gender dynamics and overt advocacy for the LGBTQ community. “As individuals, we still limit ourselves in a lot of ways,” says Hall. “We have to be actively vigilant around how people’s voices are represented, even nonverbally. We need to do a better job of recognizing that any economic system is centered around women, as people who are providing care work that allows for other work to be done. We could be stronger in having a feminist lens on the work that we’re doing.”
Cooperation Jackson has been more successful at hiring neighborhood men than neighborhood women for co-op jobs, and more men come to member meetings. “There’s nothing that we’re doing in terms of recruitment that brings in men, but men are the majority of people who are on the street, who will ask for work. Women aren’t on the streets in the same way,” Hall says.
It’s an imbalance she wants to remedy.
Imani Olugbala, a longtime local activist, is the anchor of Freedom Farms. She has lived in the neighborhood adjoining the co-op for two decades. She raised eight kids and is raising three grandkids there.
The farmworkers, most just out of high school, buzz around Olugbala in the closet-sized room that serves as Freedom Farms headquarters. They talk scheduling and turn in “homework” — worksheets and research related to farming. They ask advice on dealing with younger siblings. They treat her as a mentor, and in some cases, a parent.
A portion of Freedom Farms is being dug up for an aquaponics pond, where waste from fish will become nutrients to feed plants. A practice model — a fish tank and bean sprouts — is set up near Olugbala’s desk. The bean sprouts have been swaying and moving all day.
“They’re dancing because they’re alive!” a worker named A.B. reports, enthusiastically.
A former fine arts and music teacher, Olugbala finds symbiosis everywhere.
“When I was teaching poetry, I was teaching music. Because it’s all about the rhythms. When I was teaching music, I was teaching science. Because it’s about the vibration of the music and how it hits your eardrum. Everything is connected,” she says.
Cooperation Jackson is a long term vision. “We’re going to ultimately have to create our own network of supply and value chain,” says Akuno. “If we exist in a bubble, we won’t survive. It’s a big experiment in democracy. Talk to us in ten years, and see where we’re going.”
Cooperation Jackson is one of twelve inspiring stories of local transformation shortlisted for the 2019 Transformative Cities People’s Choice Award. Transformative Cities is a global search for transformative practices and responses that are tackling global crises at a municipal level. You can still vote for the story that inspires you the most until the 9th of October at transformativecities.org/2019award.
'Fighting Forward' with Cooperative Power in the Bronx
Steven Wishnia Oct 2, 2019
The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative’s headquarters are on a side street off Fordham Road, the borough’s main shopping strip.…


NewsVideo Games
Cult Classic R.B.I. Baseball to return in Spring 2014
Nicholas Ashman 2014-01-16
Nicholas Ashman · 01/16/2014
On the heels of 2K Sports’ announcement that it will be discontinuing its Major League Baseball game franchise, MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) announced this week that it will be reviving the 80’s Namco hit R.B.I. Baseball, a game whose first iteration is famous for being the first video game to feature actual major league baseball players. Though this news was just made public, Major League Baseball fans and sports video game fans alike will not have to wait long to get their hands on this now eagerly anticipated commodity. In its press release announcing the development of this game, MLBAM also revealed that the game’s release will coincide with the start of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, meaning it will be out sometime this spring.
I’m pretttttttttty sure you can expect an improvement in graphics.
In a sports video game world dominated by 2K’s NBA franchise and EA Sports’ FIFA and Madden franchises, this announcement could not come at a better time for baseball lovers and the MLB itself. Though Sony’s MLB: The Show franchise has been well received critically, sales of The Show games have decreased each year since they peaked in 2010. Also, any game that is released only across Sony’s PlayStation platforms naturally will not be as culturally popular as games like FIFA and Madden, which are available to all console users.
This new version of the R.B.I. Baseball franchise that has been dormant for the last 19 years (the last game released under that title was R.B.I. ’95) will excite not only college aged kids like myself who have been lacking that high quality baseball game ever since EA Sports cancelled its MVP Baseball franchise, but it will also excite middle aged gamers who perhaps grew up playing classic iterations of the R.B.I. franchise and will now have a new, next-gen version of one of their childhood favorites to introduce to their own children.
Luckily, MLBAM made the intelligent decision to develop this game for the Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as the next-gen PS4 and Xbox One, a move that should help it usurp The Show’s throne, if you can call steadily decreasing sales for a game released on one console a throne. For all you Game of Thrones lovers out there, just imagine The Show is King Robert and this new R.B.I. game is young Joffrey, poised to snatch that throne and end King Robert’s reign.
Official MLB press release announcing the game
In my opinion, the most important piece of information to come out of this news is the fact that the new R.B.I. Baseball game (tentatively titled R.B.I. Baseball 14) will be released not just on consoles, but on smartphones and tablets as well. Walking around a college campus every day, I see firsthand just how many people walk around staring down at their smartphones (Hint: it’s a lot), which is why this is a brilliant decision by MLBAM from a financial standpoint. Many smart phone users are not really gamers, at least not console gamers. However, with mobile games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush having such an insane cultural impact, companies are learning that by releasing their games on smartphones and tablets they can appeal to all demographics.
The average consumer may see the $60 price tag for R.B.I Baseball 14 on the Xbox 360 for instance and immediately be turned off by the steep price. However, if they go to the app store on their smartphone or tablet and see the mobile version of that game offered for a fraction of the price, they will be much more inclined to purchase it because they have grown accustomed to playing and enjoying games on their mobile device rather than on a console. All I can say is MLBAM execs are about to be seeing dollar signs.
Clearly, the positive outweighs the negative with the release of this new R.B.I. Baseball game. At the very least this news has people excited about baseball video games for the first time in years. But will the game be a homerun, or is the MLB going to strike out and get sent back to the dugout? We will soon find out.
Tags:2KAngry BirdsbaseballCandy CrushfeaturedFIfaGame of ThronesMaddenMLBNBAps3ps4Xbox 360xbox one
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Nicholas Ashman is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gamer. Film lover. TV fanatic.
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Bozzuto Leadership
Toby Bozzuto
President & Chief Executive Officer, The Bozzuto Group
Toby Bozzuto provides strategic and day-to-day leadership for more than 2,500 employees in eleven metropolitan areas. By fostering a strong corporate culture, he guides future growth and encourages the company to create extraordinary experiences for residents, clients, partners and each other. Toby regularly lends his real estate expertise to leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Harvard Business Review, as well as media outlets such as CNBC, Marketplace, Bloomberg Media, and Baltimore’s NPR Station WYPR. As a regular guest lecturer at Harvard University, Georgetown University, Cornell University, The University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, Toby strives to share his insight and passion for creating community.
For two years in a row, The Washington Post has named The Bozzuto Group as a “Top Workplace,” based solely on employee feedback and submissions. In 2016, Toby, alongside his father Tom Bozzuto, accepted the William Donald Schaefer Industrialist of the Year Award from the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Additionally, he has received many recognitions, such as Developer of the Year by the District of Columbia Building Industry and Maryland Building Industry Association, one of Maryland Daily Record’s “Most Influential Marylanders,” Baltimore Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and as a Commercial Property Executive Rising Leader. He also proudly joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, committing himself to advance diversity throughout all levels of the workplace.
An active member of his community, Toby serves on the Board of Trustees for Colgate University, Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Gilman School. He is also a member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Policy Advisory Board, National Advisory Board for ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing, and the Young Presidents’ Organization. Toby holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colgate University and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from New York University.


16.973(4) (4) Ensure responsiveness to the needs of agencies for delivery of high-quality information technology processing services on an efficient and economical basis, while not unduly affecting the privacy of individuals who are the subjects of the information being processed by the department.
16.973(5) (5) Utilize all feasible technical means to ensure the security of all information submitted to the department for processing by agencies, local governmental units and entities in the private sector.
16.973(6) (6) With the advice of the ethics commission, adopt and enforce standards of ethical conduct applicable to its paid consultants which are similar to the standards prescribed in subch. III of ch. 19, except that the department shall not require its paid consultants to file statements of economic interests.
16.973(7) (7) Prescribe and revise as necessary performance measures to ensure financial controls and accountability, optimal personnel utilization, and customer satisfaction for all information technology functions in the executive branch outside of the University of Wisconsin System and annually, no later than March 31, report to the joint committee on information policy and technology concerning the performance measures utilized by the department and the actual performance of the department and the executive branch agencies measured against the performance measures then in effect.
16.973(8) (8) Offer the opportunity to local governmental units to voluntarily obtain computer or supercomputer services from the department when those services are provided under s. 16.972 (2) (b) or (c), and to voluntarily participate in any master contract established by the department under s. 16.972 (2) (h) or in the use of any informational system or device provided by the department under s. 16.974 (3).
16.973(9) (9) In consultation with the department of veterans affairs, administer a program to increase outreach to veterans regarding veterans services and benefits, and to provide training to employees of the department of veterans affairs and county veterans service officers.
16.973(10) (10) Promulgate:
16.973(10)(a) (a) A definition of and methodology for identifying large, high-risk information technology projects.
16.973(10)(b) (b) Standardized, quantifiable project performance measures for evaluating large, high-risk information technology projects.
16.973(10)(c) (c) Policies and procedures for routine monitoring of large, high-risk information technology projects.
16.973(10)(d) (d) A formal process for modifying information technology project specifications when necessary to address changes in program requirements.
16.973(10)(e) (e) Requirements for reporting changes in estimates of cost or completion date to the department and the joint committee on information policy and technology.
16.973(10)(f) (f) Methods for discontinuing projects or modifying projects that are failing to meet performance measures in such a way to correct the performance problems.
16.973(10)(g) (g) Policies and procedures for the use of master leases under s. 16.76 (4) to finance new large, high-risk information technology system costs and maintain current large, high-risk information technology systems.
16.973(10)(h) (h) A standardized progress point in the execution of large, high-risk information technology projects at which time the estimated costs and date of completion of the project is reported to the department and the joint committee on information policy and technology.
16.973(11)(a) (a) A requirement that each executive branch agency review commercially available information technology products prior to initiating work on a customized information technology development project to determine whether any commercially available product could meet the information technology needs of the agency.
16.973(11)(b) (b) Procedures and criteria to determine when a commercially available information technology product must be used and when an executive branch agency may consider the modification or creation of a customized information technology product.
16.973(11)(c) (c) A requirement that each executive branch agency submit for approval by the department and prior to initiating work on a customized information technology product a justification for the modification or creation by the agency of a customized information technology product.
16.973(12) (12)
16.973(12)(a)(a) In this subsection, “master lease" has the meaning given under s. 16.76 (4).
16.973(12)(b) (b) Annually, no later than October 1, submit to the governor and the members of the joint committee on information policy and technology a report documenting the use by each executive branch agency, other than the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, of master leases to fund information technology projects in the previous fiscal year. The report shall contain all of the following information:
16.973(12)(b)1. 1. The total amount paid under master leases towards information technology projects in the previous fiscal year.
16.973(12)(b)2. 2. The master lease payment amounts approved to be applied to information technology projects in future years.
16.973(12)(b)3. 3. The total amount paid by each executive branch agency on each information technology project for which debt is outstanding, as compared to the total financing amount originally approved for that information technology project.
16.973(12)(b)4. 4. A summary of repayments made towards any master lease in the previous fiscal year.
16.973(13)(a)(a) Except as provided in par. (b), include in each contract with a vendor of information technology that involves a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (10) or that has a projected cost greater than $1,000,000, and require each executive branch agency authorized under s. 16.71 (1m) to enter into a contract for materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services relating to information technology to include in each contract with a vendor of information technology that involves a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (10) or that has a projected cost greater than $1,000,000 a stipulation requiring the vendor to submit to the department for approval any order or amendment that would change the scope of the contract and have the effect of increasing the contract price. The stipulation shall authorize the department to review the original contract and the order or amendment to determine all of the following and, if necessary, to negotiate with the vendor regarding any change to the original contract price:
16.973(13)(a)1. 1. Whether the work proposed in the order or amendment is within the scope of the original contract.
16.973(13)(a)2. 2. Whether the work proposed in the order or amendment is necessary.
16.973(13)(b) (b) The department or an executive branch agency may exclude from a contract described in par. (a) the stipulation required under par. (a) if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
16.973(13)(b)1. 1. Including such a stipulation would negatively impact contract negotiations or significantly reduce the number of bidders on the contract.
16.973(13)(b)2. 2. If the exclusion is sought by an executive branch agency, that agency submits to the department a plain-language explanation of the reasons the stipulation was excluded and the alternative provisions the executive branch agency will include in the contract to ensure that the contract will be completed on time and within the contract budget.
16.973(13)(b)3. 3. If the exclusion is sought by the department, the department prepares a plain-language explanation of the reasons the stipulation was excluded and the alternative provisions the department will include in the contract to ensure that the contract will be completed on time and within the contract budget.
16.973(13)(b)4. 4. The department submits for approval by the joint committee on information policy and technology any explanation and alternative contract provisions required under subd. 2. or 3. If, within 14 working days after the date that the department submits any explanation and alternative contract provisions required under this subdivision, the joint committee on information policy and technology does not contact the department, the explanation and alternative contract provisions shall be deemed approved.
16.973(14)(a)(a) Require each executive branch agency, other than the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin system, that has entered into an open-ended contract for the development of information technology to submit to the department quarterly reports documenting the amount expended on the information technology development project. In this subsection, “open-ended contract" means a contract for information technology that includes one or both of the following:
16.973(14)(a)1. 1. Stipulations that provide that the contract vendor will deliver information technology products or services but that do not specify a maximum payment amount.
16.973(14)(a)2. 2. Stipulations that provide that the contract vendor shall be paid an hourly wage but that do not set a maximum limit on the number of hours required to complete the information technology project.
16.973(14)(b) (b) Compile and annually submit to the joint committee on information technology the reports required under par. (a).
16.973(15) (15) By October 1 of each year, submit to the joint committee on finance and the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) a report on the administration of the information technology and communication services self-funded portal. The report shall include the following information regarding the portal for the immediately preceding fiscal year:
16.973(15)(a) (a) A financial statement of state revenues and expenditures.
16.973(15)(b) (b) A list of services available through the portal, identifying services added since the previous reporting period.
16.973(15)(c) (c) Fees charged for each service available through the portal.
16.973(15)(d) (d) The activity level of each service available through the portal.
16.973(15)(e) (e) Any other information the department determines to be appropriate to include.
16.973(16) (16) No later than March 1 and September 1 of each year, submit to the joint committee on information policy and technology a report that documents for each executive branch agency information technology project with an actual or projected cost greater than $1,000,000 or that the department of administration has identified as a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (10) (a) all of the following:
16.973(16)(a) (a) Original and updated project cost projections.
16.973(16)(b) (b) Original and updated completion dates for the project and any stage of the project.
16.973(16)(c) (c) An explanation for any variation between the original and updated costs and completion dates under pars. (a) and (b).
16.973(16)(d) (d) A copy of any contract entered into by the department for the project and not provided in a previous report.
16.973(16)(e) (e) All sources of funding for the project.
16.973(16)(f) (f) The amount of any funding provided for the project through a master lease under s. 16.76 (4).
16.973(16)(g) (g) Information about the status of the project, including any portion of the project that has been completed.
16.973(16)(h) (h) Any other information about the project, or related information technology projects, requested by the joint committee on information policy and technology.
16.973 History History: 2001 a. 16 ss. 367 to 369, 1030 to 1030m; 2003 a. 33 ss. 777 to 781; Stats. 2003 s. 16.973; 2007 a. 1, 20; 2015 a. 55, 118; 2015 a. 197 s. 51; 2017 a. 369.
16.974 16.974 Powers of the department. The department may:
16.974(1) (1) Establish and collect assessments and charges for all authorized services provided by the department, subject to applicable agreements under subs. (2) and (2m).
16.974(2) (2) Subject to s. 16.972 (2) (b), enter into and enforce an agreement with any agency, any authority, any unit of the federal government, any local governmental unit, any entity in the private sector, or any tribal school, as defined in s. 115.001 (15m), to provide services authorized to be provided by the department to that agency, authority, unit, entity, or tribal school at a cost specified in the agreement.
16.974(2m) (2m) Enter into and enforce an agreement with an individual to provide services authorized to be provided by the department to that individual.
16.974(3) (3) Develop or operate and maintain any system or device facilitating Internet or telephone access to information about programs of agencies, authorities, local governmental units, entities in the private sector, individuals, or any tribal schools, as defined in s. 115.001 (15m), or otherwise permitting the transaction of business by agencies, authorities, local governmental units, entities in the private sector, individuals, or tribal schools by means of electronic communication. The department may assess executive branch agencies, other than the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, for the costs of systems or devices relating to information technology or telecommunications that are developed, operated, or maintained under this subsection in accordance with a methodology determined by the department. The department may also charge any agency, authority, local governmental unit, entity in the private sector, or tribal school for such costs as a component of any services provided by the department to that agency, authority, local governmental unit, entity, or tribal school. The department may charge an individual for such costs as a component of any services provided by the department to that individual.
16.974(4) (4) Provide services authorized under sub. (3) to hospitals, as defined in s. 50.33 (2). Subsection (1) applies to the services provided under this subsection.
16.974(5) (5) Review and approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove any proposed contract for the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services relating to information technology or telecommunications by an executive branch agency, other than the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
16.974 History History: 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33 ss. 782 to 785c; Stats. 2003 s. 16.974; 2009 a. 302; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 20.
16.975 16.975 Access to information. The department shall withhold from access under s. 19.35 (1) all information submitted to the department by agencies, authorities, units of the federal government, local governmental units, entities in the private sector, or individuals for the purpose of processing. The department may not process such information without the consent of the agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual which submitted the information and may not withhold such information from the agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual or from any other person authorized by the agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual to have access to the information. The agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual submitting the information remains the custodian of the information while it is in the custody of the department and access to such information by that agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual or any other person shall be determined by that agency, authority, unit, entity, or individual and in accordance with law.
16.975 History History: 1991 a. 39; 1995 a. 27; 2001 a. 16 s. 372; Stats. 2001 s. 22.11; 2003 a. 33 s. 786; Stats. 2003 s. 16.975; 2013 a. 20.
16.976 16.976 Strategic plans for executive branch agencies.
16.976(1)(1) As a part of each proposed strategic plan submitted under s. 16.971 (2) (L), the department shall require each executive branch agency to address the business needs of the agency and to identify all proposed information technology development projects that serve those business needs, the priority for undertaking such projects, and the justification for each project, including the anticipated benefits of the project. Each proposed plan shall identify any changes in the functioning of the agency under the plan. In each even-numbered year, the plan shall include identification of any information technology development project that the agency plans to include in its biennial budget request under s. 16.42 (1).
16.976(2) (2) Each proposed strategic plan shall separately identify the initiatives that the executive branch agency plans to undertake from resources available to the agency at the time that the plan is submitted and initiatives that the agency proposes to undertake that would require additional resources.
16.976(3) (3) Following receipt of a proposed strategic plan from an executive branch agency, the department shall, before June 1, notify the agency of any concerns that the department may have regarding the plan and provide the agency with its recommendations regarding the proposed plan. The executive branch agency may submit modifications to its proposed plan in response to any recommendations.
16.976(4) (4) Before June 15, the department shall approve or disapprove the proposed plan in whole or in part.
16.976(5) (5) No executive branch agency, other than the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, may implement a new or revised information technology development project authorized under a strategic plan until the implementation is approved by the department in accordance with procedures prescribed by the department.
16.976(6) (6) The department shall consult with the joint committee on information policy and technology in providing guidance for planning by executive branch agencies.
16.976 History History: 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33 ss. 787 to 791; Stats. 2003 s. 16.976; 2015 a. 55.
16.977 16.977 Information technology portfolio management. With the assistance of executive branch agencies, the department shall manage the information technology portfolio of state government in accordance with a management structure that includes all of the following:
16.977(1) (1) Criteria for selection of information technology assets to be managed.
16.977(2) (2) Methods for monitoring and controlling information technology development projects and assets.
16.977(3) (3) Methods to evaluate the progress of information technology development projects and the effectiveness of information technology systems, including performance measurements for the information technology portfolio.
16.977 History History: 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33 ss. 792, 793; Stats. 2003 s. 16.977; 2015 a. 55.
16.9785 16.9785 Purchases of computers by teachers. The department shall negotiate with private vendors to facilitate the purchase of computers and other educational technology, as defined in s. 24.60 (1r), by public, private, and tribal elementary and secondary school teachers for their private use. The department shall attempt to make available types of computers and other educational technology under this section that will encourage and assist teachers in becoming knowledgeable about the technology and its uses and potential uses in education.
16.9785 History History: 1995 a. 27, 225; 1997 a. 27; 2001 a. 16, s. 308; Stats. 2001 s. 22.19; 2003 a. 33 s. 796; Stats. 2003 s. 16.9785; 2009 a. 302.
16.979 16.979 Telecommunications operations and planning.
16.979(2)(2) Powers and duties. The department shall ensure maximum utility, cost-benefit and operational efficiency of all telecommunications systems and activities of this state, and those which interface with cities, counties, villages, towns, other states and the federal government. The department, with the assistance and cooperation of all other agencies, shall:
16.979(2)(a) (a) Develop and maintain a statewide long-range telecommunications plan, which will serve as a major element for budget preparation, as guidance for technical implementation and as a means of ensuring the maximum use of shared systems by agencies when this would result in operational or economic improvements or both.
16.979(2)(b) (b) Develop policy, standards and technical and procedural guidelines to ensure a coordinated and cost-effective approach to telecommunications system acquisition and utilization.
16.979(2)(c) (c) Maintain a comprehensive inventory of all state-owned or leased telecommunications equipment and services.
16.979(2)(d) (d) Monitor overall state expenditures for telecommunications systems and prepare an annual financial report on such expenditures.
16.979(2)(e) (e) Review the operation of all telecommunications systems of this state to ensure technical sufficiency, adequacy and consistency with goals and objectives.
16.979(2)(f) (f) Perform the functions of agency telecommunications officer for those agencies with no designated focal point for telecommunications planning, coordination, technical review and procurement.
/statutes/statutes/16 true statutes /statutes/statutes/16/VII/973/13/a/2 Chs. 13-20, General Organization of the State, Except the Judiciary statutes/16.973(13)(a)2. statutes/16.973(13)(a)2. section true


Hardister Agrees With Concept Of State School Bond
Posted by John Hammer | Mar 5, 2019 | News
State Rep. Jon Hardister agreed that in the proposed state education bond referendum it appeared that Guilford County as the third largest school system in the state “was not getting as much as it should.”
Guilford County Schools are slated to get $12.6 million of the $1.9 billion proposed state education bond while Wake County Schools, the largest in the state, is supposed to receive $109.6 million.
Hardister who is House majority whip said that he co-sponsored the bill because he agreed with the concept of providing state money through a bond referendum for school maintenance and construction, not necessarily with the funding formula.
He said, “I will do the best I can to make sure Guilford County is treated fairly.”
Hardister explained that the bill that was filed was just a “starting point” and would have to go through several House committees, and then a vote on the House floor and he expected it to be amended all along the way.
Of course, for an education construction bond referendum to appear on the ballot in 2020, it not only has to pass the state House, it also has to pass the state Senate which provides more opportunity for changes.
In fact the Senate is currently looking at an entirely different method of funding school construction not with a bond but on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Hardister said, “I’m not a big fan of taking on debt. I’m not opposed to the pay-as-you-go concept. I think that’s something that we should consider going forward.”
Hardister’s main point was that the proposed bond package, put the issue of the state offering some help to the local school districts with construction costs on the table and what was finally passed by the legislature would likely be very different from House Bill 241 that he co-sponsored. He said the important thing at this point was to get the discussion going on the best way for the state to fund school construction.
Hardister said one of the big problems with the pay-as-you-go method is that any future legislature could decide to spend that money elsewhere, but if a bond referendum passed that money could only be used for the stated purpose of the bond in this case school construction.
The problem for Guilford County in the proposed bond funding is the formula that was used to determine how much each school system would receive. Hardister said that he wasn’t sure he understood exactly how the formula worked but it appeared one reason Guilford County received so little funding was that the school system, despite being the third largest, was not growing and one of the funding variables was based on growth.
Another factor was based on the economic vitality of the county. The formula awarded more money to counties that were deemed to be in economic distress. Although Guilford is a Tier 2 county, unlike Wake and Mecklenburg which are both in the most economically successful Tier 3, according to the bill Guilford was not deemed in such dire economic straits that it deserved more money.
So Guilford lost out on the growth money because the school system in the county is not growing and lost out on the economic distress money because the economy while not deemed good by the state, is not deemed bad enough for more money.
Governor Roy Cooper has stated that he is in favor of the bond proposal presented in the House.
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Evidence tampering alleged in police chief firing case
U.S. Headlines
by: DON BABWIN, Associated Press
FILE – In this March 26, 2019, file photo, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks during a news conference in Chicago. When fellow officers discovered Johnson asleep behind the wheel of his running SUV, they did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home, a decision that has thrown a spotlight on what happens when one officer confronts another on patrol. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)
CHICAGO (AP) — A female Chicago police officer who was reportedly seen on video drinking with and kissing the now-fired police superintendent the night he was found asleep behind the wheel of his SUV has been accused of tampering with a cellphone investigators wanted to examine, a police department spokesman said Friday.
Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said officials noticed that the phone was damaged when the woman left then-Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s security detail to join the evidence and recovered property unit, three days after the incident.
According to the Chicago Tribune, which first reported the allegations about the phone, a sergeant in the unit that the officer was joining noticed that the SIM card was missing and filed a formal complaint against the officer.
The Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, citing sources the papers didn’t identify, said video shows Johnson with a woman who is not his wife the night of Oct. 16 at a popular bar and restaurant in the Chicago Board of Trade Building.
Guglielmi declined to discuss why the woman was transferred but said turning over phones and other equipment is routine when officers move from one unit to another. He said the phone had been “noticeably damaged and the SIM card was missing or damaged.”
He said the inspector general’s office became aware of the problems with the phone when it contacted the police department to ask for it as part of its investigation. He also said that as of Friday, the office has not requested that any member of the department be disciplined.
Guglielmi said the woman, who is on medical leave for injuries unrelated to the incident, is at the center of the investigation of the incident that prompted Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fire Johnson on Monday.She said that after reviewing information, including video-recorded evidence, that she concluded Johnson had lied to her when the two discussed the incident. Johnson, in a statement issued the next day, said he did not ‘’intentionally mislead or deceive” anyone.
Johnson had said after the incident that as he was driving home after having dinner with friends he felt lightheaded and fell asleep after he pulled over. In a statement issued later that day, Guglielmi said that Johnson showed no signs of impairment when they responded to a 911 call about Johnson and allowed him to drive home.
Johnson, who in 2017 underwent kidney transplant surgery, blamed what had happened on a recent change in his blood pressure medication but a short time later, Lightfoot said that the superintendent had acknowledged to her that he had “couple of drinks with dinner.”
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