|
LIVE UNITED
 Margaret
Mead said, “Never doubt a small group of thoughtful, committed
people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever
has.” This is exactly how I describe the United Way campaign for
State and Federal Communications every year.
In Summit County,
we are a pacesetter for the United Way campaign, which basically
means we hold our fundraising program earlier than the formal
campaign begins.
Another thing about
the Summit County program is State and Federal Communications ranks
61st in dollars contributed. Now that is amazing when you
consider we have 23 people on staff. Below are the results of our
2009 campaign.
-
Participation—100%
-
Fair Share
+ Donors—82% [United Way’s Fair Share plus $1]
-
Leadership
Donors—59% [Contributions of more than $1,000]
-
Increase
from 2008 to 2009 campaign—12%
Our campaign is
special because the company matches the contributions dollar for
dollar so our overall contribution for 2009 exceeds $31,000. We use
those fabulous American Express points to thank our leadership
donors. This year each person was given 10,000 American Express
points to use—the most popular item was the $100 Home Depot gift
card!
Plus all of our Fair
Share + donors were in a pool to win a Garmin GPS. We had two of
these prizes and Research Associate Christine Wheeler and
Administrative Assistant Audrey Epps were the winners. In addition,
all Fair Share + donors received a $200 gift card to a favorite gas
station!!!
Until next month,
think about how you can LIVE UNITED and help your local United Way
in 2009 and remember how a small group of committed people can
change the world.
Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
|
|
|
Colorado’s
Amendment 41—Current Update
by Tracee
Hilton-Rorar Esq., Compliance Associate
 It
has been more than a year and a half since voters approved Amendment
41 (Article XXIX of the Colorado Constitution), Colorado’s
ethics-in-government law, which among other things, requires an
independent ethics commission to review allegations of gifts or
services given to elected officials, complaints of misconduct, and
officials’ failure to disclose gifts or services received.
The Colorado
Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) approved rules and procedures on
July 11, 2008. The rules became law on September 1, 2008. The
panel will begin considering complaints and developing advisory
opinions.
The IEC will treat
all matters filed with the IEC as confidential until such time as
the IEC determines to make the matters public. Jane Feldman, the
recently appointed executive director of the commission, says this
regulation is meant to protect those who may be innocent of a
complaint until they are proven guilty.
On May 31, 2007 the
Denver District Court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the
enforcement of these gift bans on First Amendment grounds [Developmental
Pathways v. Bill Ritter, Case No. 07CV1353]. On April 22,
2008, the Denver District Court vacated the preliminary injunction.
The next scheduled status conference in the district court is
November 24, 2008.
The IEC reminded
all government officials and employees the gift restrictions of
Article XXIX are in effect. All state and many county and municipal
employees are covered under Article XXIX of the Colorado
Constitution. The reminder was sent prior to the Democratic
National Convention in Colorado.
Article XXIX
section 3 restricts gifts that may be given to or received by
government officials and employees. Specifically, covered
government officials and employees may not directly, or indirectly
as the beneficiary of a gift or thing of value given to such
person’s spouse or dependent child, solicit, accept, or receive any
gift or other thing valued at more than $50 in any calendar year
from a person, without the person receiving lawful consideration of
equal or greater value in return from the covered employee or
official. Lobbyists are prohibited from either giving a thing of
value to a covered individual or knowingly paying for a meal or
beverage to be consumed by such a covered person. The limitation
applies to both a lobbyist’s business and personal events.
Click here to read the relevant section of Article XXIX.
The
official website of the IEC can be accessed at
www.colorado.gov/ethicscommission and the procedural rules
may be viewed at
www.colorado.gov/rules. Please do not hesitate to give State
and Federal Communications a call if we can assist you with any
other information about Colorado. |
 Summary of Changes UPDATE
-
In
Colorado, Amendment 54 will appear on the November ballot. The
amendment will allow voters to enact pay-to-play laws that would
restrict businesses holding contracts with the state from making
political contributions.
-
Also in November,
Oregon voters will have the opportunity to vote for Ballot Measure
64, which would prohibit the use of any public resource to collect
or help collect money used for a political purpose.
-
Initiated Measure
10 will appear on the November ballot in South Dakota. The measure
would enact pay-to-play restrictions on contributions and
independent expenditures from the holders of no-bid government
contracts.
-
Illinois House Bill
824, which would have enacted pay-to-play provisions in the state,
was vetoed by the governor and sent back to the legislature with
suggested changes. The governor followed up his veto with Executive
Order 3, establishing pay-to-play provisions that restrict
contributions from businesses holding contracts with state agencies
that total more than $50,000.
-
Karen Shepherd is the new Interim Commissioner of Lobbying for the
Canadian Federal Government. She may be reached at (613) 957-2760,
or QuestionsLobbying@ORL-BDL.gc.ca
You Should Know
by Joe May, Researcher
 The
West Virginia Ethics Commission expects to put lobbyist disclosure
reports on their website by January 2009. Executive Director Lew
Brewer said the database will allow lobbyists to file their
disclosure forms on-line and the public will be able to search the
results. The software for the database has been completed, according
to Brewer, and the Ethics Commission will be selecting lobbyists
this fall to submit practice reports in order to test the new
system.
Under the current
system, lobbyists in West Virginia submit four-page paper disclosure
forms in January, May, and September. The forms are kept at the
commission’s office in Charleston.
The Ethics
Commission also will be posting their most recent advisory opinions
on their website. The commission previously waited one month before
posting the opinions, in case the opinions would be reconsidered at
the next meeting. Current advisory opinions will be posted after the
first meeting, but with a disclaimer stating the opinions could be
subject to reconsideration.
For Pets
Sake ... Too Many Cats!
by
Christine Wheeler,
Esq., Research Associate
While
staying at the New Orleans Ritz Carlton for the State Government
Affairs Workshop last spring, I fell in love with the manager’s
parrot, Lady, in the courtyard. But, as I am telling her in the
picture, I have too many cats to think about having a feathered pet.
Hershey, my twelve
year-old chocolate point Siamese, earned the name “legal cat” as he
spent every moment of my law school years studying with me, either
on my desk or my lap, and of course when I studied for the bar exam.
 Prior
to becoming a Research Associate at State and Federal Communications,
I was in private practice, which included guardian ad litem
cases. 
I represented abused and neglected children, and many of my cases
were emotionally draining.
After one
particularly heated hearing in Juvenile
Court, I returned
to my car in the parking lot, and a small furry form crawled out
from under it, which turned out to be an emaciated, bedraggled cat,
not much more than a kitten. To move her out of the way, I picked
her up, which caused her to burst into a loud purr. I put her down,
but she ran right back. I remember thinking, well, it may be hard to
change things quickly inside the court, but at least I could do what
I could for this small being.
 Over
the next few weeks, Fantasia turned out to be quite a pretty young
cat, with long black and white fur, becoming rounder and plumper,
until she looked much like a furry soccer ball with ears.
 Of
course, in actuality, I had saved three lives, with the birth of our
kittens, a black and white tuxedo cat, Isabella, and the grey tuxedo
cat, Gracie. My talents do not lie in the area of giving away
kittens. I hesitate to tell the story, even, as it tends to elicit
offers of other needy cats. But, as you can see, as I told the
parrot, I already have too many cats!
|
|
Landmark Series –
The USS Arizona
Memorial
This article is one of an
ongoing series that focuses on historical and/or significant
landmarks. Information gleaned from
www.nps.gov,
www.zimbio.com, www.wikipedia.com, www.pastfoundation.org/Arizona;
www.historymatters.gmu.edu
and other sources.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared,
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in
infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately
attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is where World War II began for the United States.
The event that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto stated, "I
fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant."
The Attack
 Shortly
before 8am on December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft from six fleet
carriers struck the Pacific Fleet in port at Pearl Harbor. ARIZONA
was the most seriously damaged of all the vessels, suffering three
near-misses and four direct-hits. The last bomb to strike her
penetrated her deck and detonated. The resulting cataclysmic
explosion broke the ship, collapsed the decks, and caused a cavity
that enabled the tower to fall thirty feet into her hull. ARIZONA
was a complete loss. The ship was not considered salvageable. She
remains where she sank to this day, a tomb for the 1,177 brave men
who died with her. These deaths totaled over half of the casualties
suffered by the entire attack. ARIZONA (BB-39) was awarded one
Battle Star for her service in World War II.
Memorial
 The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of wartime desire to create a
memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack on
December 7, 1941. Suggestions
for such a memorial began in 1943. President Dwight D. Eisenhower,
who helped achieve Allied victory in Europe during World War II,
approved the creation of the Memorial in 1958. It was built directly
on top of the ship after the upper tower was removed. Construction
was completed in 1961 with public funds appropriated by Congress and
private donations. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962.
Today there is a Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund [PHMF] to raise $54
million dollars to replace the current deteriorating building. The
memorial and visitor center had larger than expected visitation,
inadequate climate control systems for the artifacts, structural
deterioration from water intrusion, insufficient curator space, and
limited educational areas. The new Museum & Visitor Center will be
state-of-the-art and a link to future generations of the great
sacrifice by those that lost their life on December 7, 1941.
Arizona Trophy
“What becomes of the boys in the band when the guns begin to roar?”
There are
eleven bands in the U.S. Navy, 34 in the Army, and 12 Marine Corps
bands. All of those in the bands have attended boot camp and the
Navy School of Music in Norfolk, VA. These Navy bands would be
assigned to different ships to entertain on board, at various
stations, and international audiences. The first military band was
established in 1935 at the Washington Navy Yard.
Part of the recreation program at Pearl Harbor in 1941 was
the Battle of Music. The bands of the ships in port challenged each
other.
 One of the best and near the top in scoring when the war
began was the band of the Arizona. The evening of December 6, there
were three
21-piece bands who had made it to the finals after several months of
elimination concerts.
The USS Arizona entertained between competitive rounds and provided
dance music later in the evening. The four bands played song after
song for the excited crowd. Several thousand sailors and their
guests shouted and stood on chairs as they cheered the musicians.
The USS PENNSYLVANIA was declared the winner and presented with the
three-foot-high trophy. The evening ended with the audience singing
“God Bless America.”
As the band members packed their instruments, an ARIZONA sailor
ribbed
a PENNSYLVANIA buddy, “We get to sleep in tomorrow. You have to play
for
Colors at 0800.”
On December
7 the band members went to their battle stations down below, passing
ammunition to the guns above. This was one of the most hazardous
positions on the ship. The Arizona's band was killed when the
battleship's magazine exploded. When its total loss was discovered,
the other contestants unanimously agreed to posthumously award the
Arizona's band the trophy at stake. After that the trophy was known
as the Arizona trophy. The band on the USS Arizona is the only band
that trained, deployed, and died together. |
View Full
Print-Friendly Version
