Category Archives: Intentional Communities

Becky G is bringing candid, unfiltered conversations relevant to the Latinx community and beyond in her new talk show Face to Face with Becky G on Facebook Watch. The singer and actress will cover issues and topics important to her generation, including immigration, culture, LGBTQ+ rights, social justice, and personal experiences.

The new series will be premiering on Tuesday, November 9, and is executive produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment and Becky Gs B Yourself Productions. The show is also the latest in Facebook Watchs commitment to talking show-focused content that generates conversation and amplifies diverse voices on the social media platform.

Ahead of the Face to Face with Becky Gs debut, the singer, actress, businesswoman, and now talk show host virtually sat down with HOLA! USA to share more details of her exciting new project and what viewers can expect.

What can viewers expect from Face to Face with Becky G, you, and your guests?

My talk show is something that was made with so much love and so much intention. It is important to me to really focus on community and talk about important things to us. Building connection within the community is also vital to me. And what better way to do that than to create a safe space to have safe conversations about things that impact us. Whether they are good things or things that are personal, in an unfiltered and honest way, this is the representation for us to feel seen, heard, and connected.

Unfiltered is a keyword that describes your talk show. Why did you choose to have a no filter policy?

We talk a lot about diversity and representation. We address things like discrimination, racism, colorism, what it is to be a woman today, age, identity crisis, self-discovery, mental health, all kinds of things. And I think what meant so much to me throughout this process of developing the show and being an executive producer is the research. The research that Ive even had to do on some of our guests to learn more about their stories is very different. Its not about me. People can expect from me as a host that it is not just a normal interview where I just ask questions. I ask things that Im genuinely curious about or share something that I have struggled to find.

Walk us through the creative process of Face to Face with Becky G.

It just flowed so nicely. We have a fantastic team behind Face to Face, and many people who are like me which I love. We have some individuals who are part of the LGBTQ+ community working on our sets. We have a lot of Latinx representation in pivotal positions. Some of them behind the lens. We are making sure that its not just me, the only [person] you know. Representation of what it is to be a woman in the room, what it is to be a Latina in the room, but inviting other individuals from these specific communities that also struggle with representation and feeling seen and feeling heard, so that we can make sure that we are creating a space that is representative of all voices.

We know you dont like the term role model, and you prefer to use real model instead. Can you tell us why you dont feel comfortable with being labeled or called a role model?

The idea of a role model, I think, started with good intentions. But I think that it leaves you with no other option but to believe that a role model is someone who has it all figured out and has never made mistakes before. Someone who doesnt have bad thoughts doesnt have ugly feelings, pressure, anxiety, depression. A role model to me is just not realistic. It doesnt sound right to me anymore. But I think the word real model is what we need. Because back when I was a young girl, we didnt have platforms like this to see our public figures. Nowadays we are with each other, even when were physically not with each other, and to put on this mask all the time, that I am so perfect, I have it all figured out, that I am glitz and glamour all the time, its just not true. Real model is much more appropriate today because our youth lives in a very different time.

Besides having a fantastic crew and wonderful conversations, the shows set is something you also put a lot of effort. Whos the mastermind behind it?

We had an incredible team and crew of people behind the show. And it was so intentional. I wanted it to feel personal, and I wanted it to feel like home, like were in my home and having this conversation. Shooting in LA Im a proud LA girl we wanted Los Angeles to be kind of its own character within Face to Face because it means so much to me. I cant thank my team enough for making it feel so genuine, authentic, and inviting. The design crew and everyone who worked on all of it it took so much love.

Do you think youll come with a home decor line with similar pieces?

I dont know. Its definitely been on my list of things to do. But Im so happy people will be able to enjoy and become a part of this community. Because thats what we created it for, and Im honored. Its a privilege to be the host of this show. Cheers to the future because I know something unique has begun with Face to Face, and I hope that people love it as much as we did creating it.

More here:

Becky G is ready to have candid conversations in her show - HOLA! USA

The push to keep Camas, Camas and retain the citys vaunted small-town feel may be alienating many Camasonians who do not identify with the citys white, cisgendered, heterosexual or Christian communities.

Some families and individuals are experiencing a different version of Camas, Camas Mayor Ellen Burton told Camas City Council members this week. These are our friends and neighbors who live in similar houses to ours, drive similar cars, work similar jobs and whose kids attend the same schools. However, they dont necessarily feel safe and represented. The small-town feel that we continuously strive to create becomes one of alienation and anxiety. Opportunities available to some, are limited for others.

This was the gist of a report Burton and other members of the citys Equity Steering Committee city councilmembers Greg Anderson and Bonnie Carter presented to the council during its workshop on Monday, Nov. 1.

When it comes to issues of equity in Camas, Burton said, there is a strong cry for the city and local businesses to take a stand.

The city not coming out with a statement (during the height of the Black Lives Matter marches following the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020) made us look like we stood with extremists, Burton added.

The city established an equity advisory committee in December 2020 to address real and perceived inequities in how the city serves its community

Diversity, equity and inclusion are priorities for the city, then-city administrator Jamal Fox said on Dec. 7, 2020, calling the citys formation of an equity committee a step forward for our community.

The three city officials appointed to the equity steering committee held held listening sessions with diverse members of the Camas community including many residents who identify as members of the BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) communities earlier this year.

It was an honor to listen to our citizens and we pulled common themes from those listening sessions, Carter said.

Burton said the committee reached out to other partners in the area, including the Camas School District, to better understand how other jurisdictions and government agencies were approaching equity, diversity and inclusion.

We wanted to understand what worked, what to expect, Burton said.

The equity steering committee members held seven 90-minute, virtual, small-group listening sessions from April through August of this year.

It was very eye-opening to hear what community members were experiencing, Burton said.

Many of the people who took part in the anonymous equity listening posts said they did not have the same feeling of safety and representation many of their white, cisgender, heterosexual Camas neighbors might take for granted.

Overall, it doesnt feel welcoming or safe, one participant noted.

I cant hide what I look like. I dont feel safe putting up a sign, said another.

(When I hear) Keep Camas, Camas I laugh, said another resident. Whats the hidden message there? Lets not keep Camas, Camas.'

One said if Black leaders left Camas, they would not feel comfortable in the city. Others said seeing Pride flags made them feel safer.

Representation is huge, said one participant.

Representation is critical, said another. The more the city can do to bring in different groups/entities Its not organic.

One participant said: Its very simple (seeing) similar looking people around them increases confidence.

And while many participants said the city needs to be braver when it comes to equity and inclusion, and move into the 21st century (because Camas) is not a small mill town, they also said some things in Camas were moving in the right direction.

The city needs to be very intentional (in) what they do, said one participant. The library is very intentional the library is for everybody.

In fact, members of the equity steering committee said they heard a lot of praise for the Camas Public Library and its diverse programs and inclusive events.

We heard the Camas library really stepped it up and went above and beyond to have a welcoming environment, Carter told other city council members on Monday. Almost every listening session brought up the library.

Many residents said they especially appreciated the Camas librarys public chalk art project, which allowed residents to write messages in chalk on the public sidewalks surrounding the library during the height of the 2020 BLM marches and national outcry against systemic racism.

That came up favorably the ability of the library to use chalk art as a way of personal expression, Burton said Monday. A high school student said public art is really important in terms of creating a (more welcoming) culture and environment, that it helps relieve some of the tension.

When groups associated with far-right ideologies and white supremacism came to downtown Camas and when unknown members of the community defaced many of the chalk artwork that favored the Black Lives Matter movement it surprised many of the Camas residents interviewed by the equity steering committee.

Some were absolutely shocked and scared and devastated by the actions and words of some residents, Burton said. This drove them to be much more cautious and change their behavior.

Many BIPOC community members said they had conversations with their children about always being polite and respectful so nothing would be misinterpreted, Burton said. Some no longer allow their children to walk by themselves, and one woman in a bi-racial marriage said she no longer feels safe walking in her Camas neighborhood.

On Monday, the equity steering committee recommended several strategies to move the city forward in its equity, diversity and inclusion work, including:

o Increasing awareness of all in the community;

o Supporting diversity using visual cues like flags and stickers supporting equity and diversity

o Hosting staff training on issues involving diversity, equity and inclusion

o Updating the citys value statements to be more inclusive

o Recruiting and training diverse staff, board and commission members

o Creating more opportunities for personal connection

o Partnering with community and cultural organizations and hosting community events to further support efforts of equity, diversity and inclusion

o Expanding partnerships

o Building community awareness

The city officials also recommended creating, recruiting and supporting an Equity Advisory Committee as an ad hoc group in 2022, with the possibility of creating a standing committee in the future that would consist of seven to nine members diverse in their socio-economic levels, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, life stages, nationalities and races; be supported by city staff; and be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by city council members in 2022.

The steering committee members said they would like the Ad Hoc Equity Advisory Committee to focus on four themes: safety, representation, small-town feel and opportunities.

A small-town feel is where people look out for each other and develop deep, personal connections, Burton said. How can we do more to create a welcoming environment for each and every one of us?

View original post here:

Equity steering group: many residents living 'different version of Camas' - Camas Washougal Post Record

The long-standing practice of allowing attorneys to dismiss prospective jurors without giving a reason has come under intense criticism after a nearly all-white jury was picked to decide whether three white men are guilty of murder for shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was jogging through a neighborhood in Georgia.The selection of 11 white jurors and one Black man to decide the fate of the three defendants has drawn complaints from prosecutors and the victim's family that the jury selection process was blatantly unfair. Even the judge in the case agreed with prosecutors that the exclusion of Black potential jurors looked like intentional discrimination. Still, the judge said he had limited authority to intervene after defense attorneys gave reasons that were not about race for cutting jurors.The trial has brought new attention to a debate and growing movement around the U.S. to do away "peremptory challenges," which allow lawyers to summarily dismiss jurors. Critics say the practice is fraught with biases and creates racially imbalanced juries that make it harder to bring equal justice.HOW DO STRIKES WORK?During jury selection, the defense and prosecution each get a certain number of peremptory challenges, or strikes, that lets them dismiss potential jurors without explanation. Lawyers can also ask to remove a prospective juror for cause if they believe that person is biased or lacks the ability to serve, though they must explain the potential bias.Still, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that peremptory strikes cannot be used to dismiss jurors based solely on their race. If a judge allows a challenge to a peremptory strike, the attorney who wants to remove a juror must offer a "race-neutral" reason for doing so.But critics say lawyers can get away with abusing peremptory challenges as long as they provide a reason that is not about race. They also say a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision governing the practice has failed to end discrimination in trials.CHANGE IS COMINGAround the country, courts are beginning to change the rules to prevent the unfair exclusion of prospective jurors based on race or ethnicity.The Washington Supreme Court did so in 2018, saying judges don't have to find purposeful discrimination to deny a peremptory challenge, and that challenges based on "implicit, institutional, and unconscious biases" can be rejected.The court also said certain justifications for removing prospective jurors distrust in the legal system and knowing someone who has been convicted of a crime are invalid.In 2020, California adopted a similar set of invalid justifications for peremptory strikes. The rule changes will begin to apply at criminal trials next year and in 2026 for civil trials.Two months ago, the Arizona Supreme Court announced it was eliminating peremptory strikes beginning Jan. 1. The two-state Court of Appeals judge who proposed the change said it was "a clear opportunity to end definitively one of the most obvious sources of racial injustice in the courts."In Arizona, Pima County Public Defender Joel Feinman said he hasn't seen prosecutors in his jurisdiction use peremptory challenges in a racist way but recognizes that the practice has led to racially lopsided juries in other communities.While the elimination of peremptory challenges will help prevent racial disparities in trials, Feinman said the move also carries a drawback: It will make it harder to keep people who are hiding their biases such as a strong support for law enforcement off a jury. "It's a double-edged sword," Feinman said.

The long-standing practice of allowing attorneys to dismiss prospective jurors without giving a reason has come under intense criticism after a nearly all-white jury was picked to decide whether three white men are guilty of murder for shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was jogging through a neighborhood in Georgia.

The selection of 11 white jurors and one Black man to decide the fate of the three defendants has drawn complaints from prosecutors and the victim's family that the jury selection process was blatantly unfair.

Even the judge in the case agreed with prosecutors that the exclusion of Black potential jurors looked like intentional discrimination. Still, the judge said he had limited authority to intervene after defense attorneys gave reasons that were not about race for cutting jurors.

The trial has brought new attention to a debate and growing movement around the U.S. to do away "peremptory challenges," which allow lawyers to summarily dismiss jurors. Critics say the practice is fraught with biases and creates racially imbalanced juries that make it harder to bring equal justice.

During jury selection, the defense and prosecution each get a certain number of peremptory challenges, or strikes, that lets them dismiss potential jurors without explanation.

Lawyers can also ask to remove a prospective juror for cause if they believe that person is biased or lacks the ability to serve, though they must explain the potential bias.

Still, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that peremptory strikes cannot be used to dismiss jurors based solely on their race. If a judge allows a challenge to a peremptory strike, the attorney who wants to remove a juror must offer a "race-neutral" reason for doing so.

But critics say lawyers can get away with abusing peremptory challenges as long as they provide a reason that is not about race. They also say a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision governing the practice has failed to end discrimination in trials.

Around the country, courts are beginning to change the rules to prevent the unfair exclusion of prospective jurors based on race or ethnicity.

The Washington Supreme Court did so in 2018, saying judges don't have to find purposeful discrimination to deny a peremptory challenge, and that challenges based on "implicit, institutional, and unconscious biases" can be rejected.

The court also said certain justifications for removing prospective jurors distrust in the legal system and knowing someone who has been convicted of a crime are invalid.

In 2020, California adopted a similar set of invalid justifications for peremptory strikes. The rule changes will begin to apply at criminal trials next year and in 2026 for civil trials.

Two months ago, the Arizona Supreme Court announced it was eliminating peremptory strikes beginning Jan. 1.

The two-state Court of Appeals judge who proposed the change said it was "a clear opportunity to end definitively one of the most obvious sources of racial injustice in the courts."

In Arizona, Pima County Public Defender Joel Feinman said he hasn't seen prosecutors in his jurisdiction use peremptory challenges in a racist way but recognizes that the practice has led to racially lopsided juries in other communities.

While the elimination of peremptory challenges will help prevent racial disparities in trials, Feinman said the move also carries a drawback: It will make it harder to keep people who are hiding their biases such as a strong support for law enforcement off a jury.

"It's a double-edged sword," Feinman said.

Excerpt from:

How did the Ahmaud Arbery trial end up with a nearly all-white jury? - 4029tv

But Bidens response was one McBride had heard many times before one he calls deeply painful.

While there was a compassionate acknowledgment of the issue, there was not the political will to place this work front and center in the gun violence conversation. And I think that too often there was always a lot of calculus around, is this politically viable? McBride said. And so for someone like myself and so many others who were burying Black children and Black family members regularly, that has never been a good answer.

The response from Biden that day stands in contrast to how he talks about gun violence now. As president, Biden has promised billions of dollars in funding for community violence intervention, or CVI, programs that have been shown to break cycles of violence by connecting high-risk individuals to wraparound social services. His White House has proposed a multipronged response to a recent spike in violent crime in cities across the country.

This summer, the White House announced a 15-jurisdiction CVI collaborative, a group of mayors, law enforcement, CVI experts and philanthropic leaders who are working over the next 18 months to improve their jurisdictions CVI infrastructure and add to the body of evidence supporting these programs.

The Departments of Treasury and Education announced this summer that two buckets of American Rescue Plan funding $350 billion in flexible state and local funding and $122 billion in school funding could be used for CVI initiatives. States and localities have committed at least $1 billion of the funding toward CVI so far, according to an estimate from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The number continues to grow.

Biden proposed an additional $5 billion in CVI funding this spring in his Build Back Better agenda an amount of money that was unattainable years ago as activists like McBride failed to secure figures closer to $600 million.

McBride credits it not necessarily with some epiphany Biden has had, but with the grunt work of activists and government officials. In particular, he pointed to the Fund Peace coalition, a group of organizations looking to solve violence, which has worked closely with the White Houses Domestic Policy Council to construct the CVI investment in the presidents social spending plan. The White House has stayed in frequent contact with members of the coalition, McBride said, often holding meetings led by DPC Director Susan Rice, Cedric Richmond, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and sometimes even Biden.

But beyond committed personnel, there was a policy concept that McBride and others say could very well change the course of gun violence in a nation plagued by it.

Community violence intervention is about breaking the cycle of violence. The term, now widely used in the gun violence prevention world, was coined by activists on the ground who saw their work as a community-driven effort. The universal term gained popularity in the last few years, with Giffords changing phrases like urban gun violence prevention to community violence intervention in 2019.

These programs provide individuals with trauma-informed care and connect people to social services like counseling, education programs and employment opportunities.

When Erica Ford, the founder of LIFE Camp, Inc., one of the nations top community violence intervention programs, talks about the impact shes seen CVI have in her own community, she tells the story of a current staff member. The young man lost three friends to gun violence in one day. She remembers his pained voice on the other end of the phone line, telling her he wanted to kill the world.

Ford and other team members pulled up to his house in their 35-foot recreational vehicle they call the peace mobile, and she told him and his mother they wouldnt leave until he came outside.

And we didnt. And we were able to bring him in and begin the process of healing for him, transformation for him and developing the leadership skills to impact his friends, said Ford, another member of Bidens 2013 task force. So transforming his life was able to save at least 300 lives between the last two years that hes been part of our organization.

From Fords perspective, the idea of tackling the root causes of gun violence in urban communities wasnt on Bidens radar eight years ago. It wasnt on Washingtons radar.

Their intentionality wasnt to address the killings of Black and brown children, because that wasnt something that could get you votes. That wasnt something that could get you campaign dollars. That wasnt something that can electrify your constituents, said Ford, who has played a major role in the Fund Peace coalitions push for CVI funding in Bidens infrastructure package.

After Sandy Hook, the vice president was tapped by President Barack Obama to run point on gun policy overhauls. It was the centerpiece of the administrations response to the shooting, and it came after Obama had left the issue of gun control nearly untouched from the start of his presidency.

Bidens gun control task force met 22 times in the early days after Sandy Hook. Most of the meetings were held in the same week, spanning multiple hours, as Biden jotted down ideas in his notebook he would present to Obama in mid-January, according to a 2013 report from The Washington Post. The task force was about bringing together multiple interest groups to build a diverse coalition to lobby Congress, with Biden meeting with faith leaders, gun violence survivors and even the National Rifle Association.

Obama accepted all 19 executive action recommendations from Biden, and four more were added before the president presented them publicly. The executive actions included moves like improving the federal background check system, active shooter training for law enforcement and school officials, asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research causes and prevention of gun violence, and nominating a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

But the vice president was also criticized for moving too slowly on putting together his legislative proposals. When Congress finally got around to considering bills to expand background checks, ban certain assault rifles and limit the size of magazines, momentum to act had faded. None of the measures cleared the 60 votes needed to beat back a filibuster in the Senate.

McBrides pitch for CVI didnt make the cut in 2013, nor had the work drawn national attention in the years before as activists saw these programs benefit their communities. Even top gun violence prevention groups werent yet promoting CVI, McBride said, further fueling the education gap in Washington.

That began to change after the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violences Robyn Thomas met McBride at a training seminar in 2012.

Coming from two different sides of the fight Thomas, a policy expert and constitutional lawyer, and McBride, an activist who had seen this work in action McBride talked about how important it was for these programs to have money behind them, giving people a tangible alternative to picking up a gun.

After meeting with McBride, Thomas spent the next few years creating a team at the law center to learn and write about why CVI works. The group, which later merged with Giffords, used its platform to educate legislators at the local, state and federal level.

These programs work, they bring the sort of really thoughtful, intentional resources to the right people, said Thomas, the executive director of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

This was the kind of educational transformation activists and leaders in Black communities wanted to see in Washington. It just took about eight years for it to happen.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who has made gun control one of his top priorities, has been witness to Bidens breakthroughs and failures on gun control. He was there when the Senate defeated those post-Sandy Hook legislative efforts. Murphy is there now as Bidens current gun control priorities drag.

Murphy told POLITICO in June that he doesnt blame Biden for the gun control stalemate. Though the senator is holding out hope that he can get some Republicans on board with his current push for background check legislation, he knows getting anything done will be a challenge with what he calls the Byzantine Senate rules aka the filibuster.

As Murphy continues his own gun control fight in Congress, hes been a top supporter of the Biden administrations focus on CVI. In August, when urging the passage of the Build Back Better budget resolution, Murphy argued the need for more federal dollars to fund community violence intervention programs.

If you take a look at what drives violence and exposure to violence in this country, the number one correlative factor is income, he said. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be the victim of violence. By investing in communities that have high rates of violence and not coincidentally, high rates of poverty, you are reducing violence in this nation.

Another advocate, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), has seen CVI at work in his own state. He praised the White Houses expansion of its gun control response.

Gun violence, we need to address it from every angle and keep pushing. We will push on all fronts but this focus on community-based interventions has to be part of the overall strategy, Van Hollen told POLITICO.

Even some Republicans in Congress have been open to the idea of CVI, as long as it was kept out of the traditional infrastructure bill and not framed as anti-gun, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.

This transformation is the result of years of advocacy work, but its also about whos at the table, said Anthony Smith, executive director of Cities United, a national network focused on eliminating violence in cities related to African American men and boys. Biden has advisers like Rice and Richmond, two leaders who have been advocates for CVI, in his ear. His Cabinet has former mayors like Marty Walsh and Pete Buttigieg, who have seen CVI at work in their communities.

They all had to be educated by their community members too and pushed, Smith said. And sometimes the stars align.

This work is a silver lining in the Biden administrations gun control agenda. But the possibility of turbo-charging it with a $5 billion infusion remains in limbo without a finalized deal on Bidens social spending framework. The framework released last week mentions an investment in community violence interventions, and House Democrats released new text Tuesday for the Build Back Better bill, which included the full $5 billion in CVI funding. Even if the House votes on the bill this week, the text will once again be up for negotiation in the Senate, potentially facing more changes and cuts.

A White House official told POLITICO last week that the president is committed to supporting this work, though the official wouldnt say whether the $5 billion will be cut down or nixed all together, with negotiations still in flux. The official emphasized that the administration has funded CVI through other means like the American Rescue Plan.

The official added that while CVI is key to the White Houses approach, the administration has addressed community violence in other ways, like when the Justice Department announced its zero-tolerance policy to revoke federal licenses from firearms dealers who willfully violate gun laws.

Still, activists see this CVI-specific pot of money as a big deal in advancing their mission. And it appears the White House does as well.

Cities and states havent always been successful in distributing funds from the American Rescue Plan for other domestic programs. POLITICO reported on Thursday that Richmond spent part of his day promoting the $5 billion, and he pointed out a key difference in the Build Back Better framework.

With the ARP money, mayors will oversee those programs and theyll choose the investment. But this is important to us so were going to run it out of our shop in terms of the federal government making sure that people get access to the funding, Richmond, who seemed assured CVI would be funded in the social spending legislation, said on a call Thursday hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety.

Ford is holding on to hope that Democrats will make the $5 billion a priority when it comes to pushing a deal across the finish line. If it doesnt happen now while the party has control of both chambers and the White House, she said, there may not be another chance any time soon.

Those who know what this means to so many people, they have to win, Ford said. Because I dont know when this could happen again. Then what happens to a whole generation of people?

Read more:

Gun control legislation isnt going to happen. Heres what Bidens doing instead. - POLITICO

Count November 2, 2021, as a local victory against hyper-progressivism and a push towards rational governance.

Locally, Peachtree City voters laid down a solid mandate with the ousting of both current members of the City Council and the young socialist candidate, demanding an end to trying to undermine one of the finest quality of life communities in the nation. There was a clear call to end attempts at cramming dense residential developments into every nook and cranny within the citys boundaries. The voters are tired of the local propaganda for radical change to our local planning and family-oriented atmosphere.

Real estate developer-leaning groups like Plan for PTC want to convert our city to Buckhead instead of maintaining our family-oriented success story. The residents of Buckhead do not want to be Buckhead any longer with negative statistics climbing dramatically.

Constantly, our taxpaying citizens express to our elected officials to pay attention to the things that matter like traffic congestion, attracting high-paying jobs, public safety, and good schools.

Attracting young 20-somethings is not and never has been the reason for our success. If you want a city full of young singles, go to Portland, Oregon with its second straight year of rioting in the streets to see where that takes you.

The pushback is part of a national movement.

Please do not misconstrue this as a Republican versus Democrat argument at the national level. This is about a powerful few attempting to deprive American citizens of their fundamental rights through the creation of race confrontations and fear-mongering. It is a complicit news media and overly, emotionally triggered followers wanting to make the nation a safe space in their own image by force-feeding you the change THEY can believe in.

I told several concerned Peachtree City residents that the far-left supporters of candidate Nick Ferrante would do more damage to his campaign than his opposition. Those supporters immediately began using the currency of the far-left made up of insults and intimidation. They cannot tolerate an opinion that does not fit their narrative and bullying commenters on social media was commonplace.

This type of bad behavior has become pervasive among the far-left. It is all about using fear and emotions to grab more power.

I was astounded to read our local leftists climate alarmist comments, claiming the planet was on fire and that climate change was responsible for the dramatic increase in horrific wildfires. It is all a bunch of lies.

As Bjorn Lomborg (author of False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet) points out, In the early 1900s, about 4.2% of the land worldwide burned every year. A century later, that had dropped almost to 3%. Lomborg continues, That decline has continued through the satellite era, and 2021 is likely to end with only 2.5% of the globe having caught fire, based on data through August 31.

Climate fear-mongering groups like the World Wildlife Fund have had to admit, the area of land burned globally has actually been steadily declining since it started to be measured in 1900, yet the subtitle for their report was a crisis raging out of control.

Fires in the United States today burn far less than what we experienced in the 1930s. Similarly, the emotional eruptions in the news media over the 2019-2020 fire season in Australia accompanied by outrageous headlines claiming an apocalypse were completely false. Highly accurate satellite measurements prove that their crisis was actually was one of the lowest occurrences seen in Australia in the last 120 years.

I strongly recommend the bestseller Unsettled, What climate science tells us, what it doesnt, and why it matters by Steven E. Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy under the Obama Administration.

The intentional creation of racial confrontation and their pursuit to brainwash our children is one of the most despicable acts in our modern history. Trying to convince K-12 white children they are inherently racist and evil and black children that they are inferior victims is nothing more than an effort to topple the nation. As former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice recently stated you dont help black kids by making white kids feel guilty for being white.

As we witnessed in the electoral downfall of Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAliffe when he infamously said, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, it is time to pushback.

The Virginia voters are tired of the constant screams of racist and white supremacist any time someone challenged the states efforts to demonize our national identity and traditional values. Mind you, it is not just promoting traditional values that get you into trouble, merely mentioning them gets you canceled.

In addition to the racial segregation in the classroom, the Biden Administrations CDC getting its school covid guidelines from the left-leaning teachers unions, not the virus research, is a clear sign of K-12 education being out of control.

The far-leftists point to Europe as an economic model to follow which is laughable. A generation of young adults in our nation now says communist China is the model which is alarming.

The Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, and Elizabeth Warren movement that government should control everything (except for the corporate titans and privileged government class) is a matter of convincing the rest of us that only they can save us from evil, using the systemic, crisis, equity fear-mongering to reach their Marxist objectives.

Tell your children to beware of the people like Bernie Sanders who owns three homes, the Marxist founder of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Khan-Cullors who bought four homes with BLM funds, and Barack Obama who rails about the rising ocean levels while buying a mansion on the Marthas Vineyard coastline. They preach equality of outcome for everyone but themselves.

While the bastions of far-left politics on the west coast continue to suffer from their self-imposed misery, all we ask is do not bring it to Georgia and especially our Peachtree City.

Our children are being dragged into a psychologically oppressive state with politically generated fears constantly being implanted in their minds. Instead, teach your children the importance of honesty, accountability, respect for all persons, empathy, determination, love of community and nation, and freedom of speech and ideas.

The political hazards are obvious. It is time to stop the decline.

Steve Brown

Peachtree City, Ga.

[Brown is a former mayor of Peachtree City and former 2-term member of the Fayette County Commission.]

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Election was local victory over radical left - The Citizen.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. The City of Bloomington issued an alert to residents after a contained burn exercise conducted by the Bloomington Fire Department resulted in potentially contaminated ash debris.

Initial test results indicate the presence of lead in the samples collected, city officials confirmed in an update Monday night.

According to BFD, it completed a controlled live burn training series in the 1200 block of South High Street at a two-story house already slated and approved to be demolished.

As the live fire training exercise was wrapping up Friday morning, BFD Chief Jason Moore said the department was alerted that a concerned citizen tested a piece of debris that came from the house fire and identified the presence of lead.

Neighbors identified that person as Matt Murphy, who has lived in the neighborhood closest to the controlled burn site for more than 10 years.

We were all watching the fire and you could smell the paint burning, said Murphy. Its unfortunate as a contractor and old house painter, I recognized the smell of lead paint.

Murphy said he ran to the store and got an instant lead test kit, which confirmed his suspicions. He wasnt the only one who did that, either.

We kind of went into full damage control. So, my wife collected this bag of paint chips, said Christopher Sapp, who also lives nearby. Every piece that I tested was positive for lead.

I just saw the plumage and I could smell it so I immediately went inside because I didnt want to be around this, said Ingrid Faber who lives in one of the closest homes to the site of the contained burn.

Residents said theyve been finding debris scattered everywhere since the fire on Friday.

With the wind its just blowing everywhere. Its all over our roof, all over our yard, its everywhere on our solar panels. It is in every nook and cranny cant really get rid of it, said Faber.

When you pick it up, it turns into powder immediately and you can see on the driveway where its already pulverized, Sapp.

Moore said BFD immediately notified the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the Monroe County Emergency Management when the department was made aware that there may have been lead present in the debris.

Although residents tell FOX59 they are frustrated with the decision to conduct a controlled burn so close to a residential area and wonder why it was not checked for presence of lead prior to the demolition, the city said all necessary steps were taken to get approval for the controlled burn.

According to the fire department, the house went through the entire approval process as set forth by IDEM, at the cost of the property owner, to meet the requirements to burn the house and on September 17, the approval was issued. You can view that letter, here.

From what I can tell, the Bloomington Fire Department did everything by the book, said Andrew Guenther, who serves as the Chair of the Bloomington Environmental Commission.

This is more a case of re-writing the book so it can be an even better version of itself. I think in the future toxic and dangerous substances should not be burned within city limits for any reason except for in appropriate facilities designed to do so, added Guenther.

Guenther said when he was alerted to the problem, he immediately reached out to IDEM to ensure the proper protocols had been followed and that nothing went awry during the training exercise.

I just want to say that I applaud the efforts of all citizens to alert us to this problem, he said.

Conditions for burning are established by IDEM and include requirements such as all asbestos-containing materials, asphalt roofing and vinyl siding be removed before the intentional burning of any structure. It also requires mercury switches and fluorescent bulbs be removed from the building, among other things.

One thing it doesnt require, however, is that a presence of lead be checked for and thats because in Indiana, according to Open Burning Rule 326 IAC 4-1, the burning of lead-based paint is not prohibited. IDEM said, however, it does recommend any fire training follow lead-safe work practices.

I think IDEM could be a great leader in this by taking initiative to actually change their own policy, said Guenther. But in the meantime its up to communities such as Bloomington guard their own safety against this type of threat.

In the near future, Guenther said he plans to introduce a resolution to the Environmental Commission to urge the City Council to prohibit open burning of any toxic or dangerous substances.

When it comes to lead, which the World Health Organization (WHO), the Mayo Clinic, various other authorities have said, theres no safe level of lead in someones blood. So, when you actually have that lead being ingested, particularly by children, by those still developing, it can lead to lifelong health impacts, it can lead to lifelong IQ declines, and those sorts of things are not acceptable.

Im hoping for actually for not just city but also state legislation to change how we handle these you know, so-called controlled burns, said Murphy. There is no acceptable exposure level and this is kind of an unusual event that has dispersed this material over a very large area.

Murphy feels it is a poor choice to burn down a structure in a residential area, even if it is confirmed there is no presence of lead in the paint.

Every fire produces toxins, he said.

Residents said they had spent the weekend collecting and bagging samples of the debris and paint chips that accumulated on their property. Murphy has spent the last several days collecting those bags and also getting some dropped off by residents. Theyre labeled with the date, time and address they were collected and Murphy said he plans to bring them to IUPUI Tuesday for independent testing.

In addition to the collection done by residents, BFD crews and Chief Moore have been surveying the area as well, collecting debris and going door-to-door to survey residents and document the spread of the debris.

I was really impressed that he seemed to be as concerned as generally as concerned as we were, said Sapp. We support our fire department; we appreciate the way that they keep us safe and weve been at least Ive been pleased by their immediate reaction to this.

Officials said Mayor John Hamilton has coordinated with IDEMs commissioner to prioritize testing of the debris collected on Friday to determine toxicity level.

Initial test results indicate the presence of lead in the samples collected, the City of Bloomington shared in an update Monday night. Residents may dispose of bagged debris and used cleaning materials in specially marked receptacles that were placed in the area Sunday.

Sapp said they are just hoping for a resolution. This is not about placing blame. This its about making sure that the city and the fire department and the Department of Environmental Management, whoever is responsible that they clean it up so that we can enjoy our yards.

While Sapp is concerned for the health of his family, including his 10-year-old daughter who enjoys the outdoors and doing things like gardening in their yard, he said he is also concerned for his neighbors with younger children and the possibility of what could happen if they ingest lead, if that turns out to be what a lab confirms the debris was contaminated with.

Faber agreed that not only is she concerned for the health of her neighbors, but also herself.

Im a two-time cancer survivor and I have auto immune diseases. Ive been trying to be super safe during Covid, she said. I was really concerned.

Once testing results are available, the city said further communication will be released regarding disposal of the debris. The city also said it is continuing to work with IDEM to implement recommendations for remediation.

City officials said residents in the area may request their property be evaluated for remediation by completing a form on the Citys website at bloomington.in.gov/bfdburninfo.

On Monday night, the city also reported that after encountering delays in contracting with an environmental remediation company, the BFD is working to identify and contract with a different service provider to help conduct the evaluation and cleanup, at no charge to the affected residents.

Just two days prior, the BFD announced it entered into a contract with Servpro, a company specializing in biohazard cleanup. FOX59 crews saw one car with the company nearby on Monday afternoon. It is not clear what the status of their contract is now with the city.

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Residents concerned after controlled burn exercise in Bloomington may have resulted in contaminated ash debris - Fox 59

Bruce Anderson| Ledger Columnist

I was going through messages on my computer the other day and came across a chilling report. One of our alumni, now a graduate student at George Washington University, recounted a sick thing: a Torah, a Jewish religious text, had been desecrated on campus; it had resided in a fraternity house.

CNN reported:

Chapter President Chris Osborne told CNN by phone the house was broken into while members were away and the damage was discovered early Sunday. 'There was laundry detergent dumped on religious texts, specifically a Jewish Torah,'he said. 'We believe it was an act of anti-Semitism,'Osborne told CNN. 'There was a Christian Bible and a Jewish Torah in the room, and only the Jewish Torah was vandalized. I believe it was a hate crime.'"

Hate has had a whole new meaning over the past few years but this kind of hatred is centuries old. Sometimes it is tragically manifested. About three years ago this week, at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, a twisted anti-Semite crashed through the open doors during morning Shabbat services and killed eleven people and wounded six more. The gunman had been posting on Gab, which runs to hate babbling, about Dor Hadash (one of the congregations that met at Tree of Life) and their support for unnamed immigrants. [Dor Hadash]the murderer wrote, bring[s in] invaders … that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered, he wrote.

Our people? My people? As opposed to the people he was about to murder in a place of worship? Jewish people as other?

In agonizing irony, several of the victims in Pittsburg were survivors of the Holocaust - the attempted mass annihilation of the Jewish communities and people of Europe by Germany in the 1930s and 40s; the despicable attempt at murdering - one by one - millions of human beings because of an unbearably bizarre and preposterous belief in their otherness.

Sometimes Anti-Semitism creeps in on soft, ghoulish feet. The country clubs who would not admit Jewish people; the Gentlemans Agreement or School Ties brand of exclusion. And then there are the intentional assaults as with Pittsburg; or what occurred at George Washington University (a community of scholars and reason) where we are suddenly confronted by deliberate, premeditated acts of pollution perpetrated on sacred artifacts of religious belief. And worst of all, by some, a malignant indifference to it all.

On November 9, 1938, after years of curtailing the rights and eventually even the citizenship of German people who were Jewish, Germany exploded into shattering, bloodthirsty, primal acts of violence. The paroxysm was allegedly prompted by the assassination of a minor functionary in the German embassy in Paris, but the real cause was a premeditated, closely organized and tactically calculated plan by the government to release hatred in an external display. The attacks on Jewish homes and businesses were so violent and unrelenting that the streets were covered in the crushed glass of the broken windows and the blood of the dying. This was Kristallnacht or the night of crystal.

From 5:30 to 5:45p.m., this Tuesday, November 9th a group of people from our own community of reason will come together on my campus to remember this terrible night.

One of the organizers told me that As time passes Kristallnacht is now 83 years ago events lose their immediacy. As a Jew, I feel both bound to my ancient ancestors and responsible for the next generation. Remembering is part of that impulse, though not the only part, she said. I think as human beings we are called on to do something with memory rather than just visiting it for 15 minutes.

My former student at GWU said Anti-Semitism goes beyond the immediate. It is the canary in the coal mine for all of society. True.

Vigilance. Anti-Semitism has no place in the world.

Never forget, we say. But more importantly, Never is Now.

R. Bruce Anderson is theDr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civicsand Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Florida Southern College.He is also a columnist for The Ledgerand political consultant and on-air commentator for WLKF Radio.

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Anderson: Anti-Semitism has no place in the world - The Ledger

We all remember the day we were sent home from work for the last time in 2020. As offices across the country shut down, employees packed up their workstations, likely anticipating a return in a week or two. But more than a year and a half later, plenty of those employees still havent returned to those desks, and our collective work world now exists almost entirely within our computer screens.

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was estimated that 37% of all jobs in the U.S. could be done remotely, according to a 2020 white paper by the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago. But at the time, just a 7% of American workers had ever worked in a completely remote setting.

Today, of course, all thats changed. Now, 52% of workers have performed their job from home, according to a recent survey from Gallup. That statistic is only anticipated to grow, made possible by the workforces ability to embrace tech tools that allowed the office to easily transition to a virtual world.

Read more: Are HRs efforts to adapt to the new normal falling short?

Workers reactions to this shift have been largely positive throughout the COVID-19 crisis: 82% of remote employees agree that they have the technology needed to stay connected to their manager and team, according to data from employee success software site Quantum Workplace. And as for productivity, 78% of remote employees say theyve been highly engaged over the past 20 months, compared to 72% of on-site employees.

This forced adoption of technology has touched every corner of the workplace, but its revolutionized certain disciplines and departments across companies, changing the way we engage, hire and support our workforce. Now, theres no going back.

How tech made human resources more humanFor HR executives, the foundation had already been laid for a tech-driven revolution but COVID provided the incentive for leaders to truly embrace these tools.

The push to cloud-based ERP (enterprise resource planning) platforms was already in place, says Chris Michalak, CEO of technology solutions platform Virgin Pulse. The use of technology from a recruiting and talent acquisition perspective, the ability to manage benefits was there. [The pandemic provided] an acceleration of how tech is used in HR.

In 2022, 15% of organizations plan to decrease their spend on traditional HR technology by an average of 23%, accord- ing to Sapient Insights Groups most recent HR Systems Survey. But another 28% plan to increase investments in more forward-thinking, nontraditional HR technology, such as remote-working tools and infrastructure.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said at least half of their workforces will continue to work remotely after COVID subsides. Technology made it possible to keep the workplace afloat throughout the pandemic, from applications such as Zoom and Slack to the use of AI and social media in recruiting. Now that more companies are choosing to stay remote, it will be up to HR tech to evolve to support new needs.

"The next challenges are, how does HR manage the onboarding process for people in a highly virtual world and how do we manage benefits in a more centralized fashion, Michalak says. Being able to figure out ways to connect people using virtual technologies while making sure that youre creating a cohesive cultural experience for new team members that join your company I think thats going to be absolutely crucial going forward.

Read more: The future of primary care benefits is virtual

In the past, companies relied on such resources as onsite healthcare clinics and benefits forums to engage with employees, but much of that is going to go away, Michalak says. Companies will be much more reliant on technology to present their benefits to people and make sure they understand whats available to them to manage their physical and mental health needs.

Its going to cause HR functions to focus more highly on, wheres the right place to incorporate tech, he says. And how to enable people to use it really effectively.

Recruiting gets smart, DEI efforts get realThe definition of what it means to attract and retain diverse talent has changed in a digital environment, and the proliferation of technology has created more opportunities to be intentional and mindful about how and who we hire.

The pandemic-induced labor shortage has spotlighted one of the harshest recruiting realities that has long been hiding in plain sight: there is an overwhelming amount of untapped minority talent in applicant pools, and those candidates have been systematically ignored in traditional hiring scenarios. But technology can help bridge that gap.

The tools have always been available, according to Vaishali Shah, vice president of diversity and inclusion at Randstad Sourceright. The pandemic pushed businesses to embrace them.

The pandemic sort of made it a situation where theres no choice, she says. Before, companies chose to [use less technology] or chose to use more. Now, its as if you have to use the technology and you cant ignore what the technology is telling you. If theres data in front of you, its no longer opinions, its no longer debatable. You can actually see what your process is driving.

Despite an uptick in company-wide DEI initiatives, discrimination in recruiting is still rampant on average, applications from candidates with a perceived Black name got fewer callbacks compared to similar applicants with a perceived white name, according to a recent study by economists at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago. As more companies look to streamline their recruit- ing process, many of the tools at their disposal are also aimed at tackling discrimination.

Technology has helped to take a lot of human bias out of interviewing, Shah says.

Read more: Open enrollment needs a makeover. Heres how to boost engagement and benefits utilization

For example, LinkedIn launched a blind resume function that hides an applicants name and face in an effort to look out for underrepresented communities. As working from home has been widely accepted, more companies are opening up opportunities to talent with disabilities or chronic illnesses that had previously excluded them from physical workspaces.

[Virtual recruiting] has made it a lot more accessible for people with disabilities to learn about jobs, engage with companies, match up to positions and then actually get selected for positions, Shah says, noting that human bias can often be eliminated. Technology just pulls out the most relevant pieces [of a resume].

Eighty-six percent of HR professionals feel as if recruitment has become more like marketing, according to a recent study from Glassdoor. Theyre not wrong: 82% of job seekers consider a companys brand and reputation before even applying, according to CareerArcs 2021 Future of Recruiting. And a recent report by Arizent, EBNs parent company, found that 64% of employees are less interested in working for a company that shows evidence of a lack of diversity.

Which means that recruiting and leveraging the tech to do it equitably will remain top priority for employers.

Mental health gets its own toolkit When the pandemic first hit, unlike with HR tech and recruiting, technology was actually, in part, to blame for the wide- spread decline in employees mental health.

The CDC cited fear, uncertainty and isolation as leading factors that led to 40% of adults struggling with mental health. But as peoples lives went online and homes doubled as offices, the boundaries between work and life came dangerously close to disappearing, and employees struggled to cope.

Everything has changed about the way that we work how we approach work, how we think of benefits, how we think of serving our employees, says Anna Dearmon Kornick, head of community at Clockwise, a virtual time management platform. From a mental health perspective, its about be- ing aware of what work-life balance looks like and what that means to your team members.

Since the onset of the pandemic, time spent in meetings has increased by about 29%. Seventy-seven percent of employees say they have experienced burnout and 91% say having an unmanageable amount of stress or frustration negatively impacts the quality of their work, according to a recent survey by advisory services company, Deloitte.

Read more: These tech tools show employees their health is your priority

As a result, theres been a 154% spike in the use of employer-sponsored telehealth offerings to manage mental health. Companies including Starbucks and Hewlett Packard have expanded their benefits to include free therapy, meditation and wellness apps, and even access to a virtual vegetable garden. As of June 2021, mental wellness platform Ginger saw a 410% increase in users accessing therapy and psychiatry services, compared to pre-COVID levels.

Were having to be more intentional about communication and collaboration than ever before, Dearmon Kornick says allows employees to schedule meetings of Clockwise, which as well as down-time. Making sure that our team members know they can designate their working hours and designate their meeting hours to make sure that they have protected time for doing the work helps keep n eye on the potential for burnout.

Clockwise also delivers insights to managers on how their employees are spending their time. Should an employee be clocking too many hours of meetings and not enough time for themselves, managers will be alerted and have the opportunity to reach out before the issue gets out of hand.

Without a healthy workforce, we cant get the work done, Dearmon Kornick says. The best way to protect the mental health of employees is to decide: what does your flexible work policy look like? Be clear in communicating that policy to en- able that future to be successful not just for a company, but to be successful for the members of the team.

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HR Tech has permanently changed the workplace post-pandemic - Employee Benefit News

Mark Ayres considers himself a conservative.

But that doesnt mean hes not vaccinated.

Its something hes found himself repeating in conversations as a recently trained Sedgwick County COVID Ambassador a newcounty programtraining people to communicate information about COVID-19 and vaccinations.

The pathogen could care less what my political beliefs are, Ayres said. Were not talking about a tax bill or defense bill or environmental bill.

He is one of 32 people, 15 of whom work for the county, who have gone through the COVID Ambassador training, which began in August. Sedgwick County officials hope the program can help hoist the countys54% vaccination rate and beat back vaccine misinformation by reaching residents through their peers instead of government agencies.

I can be on TV, and that is OK for some people, but other people look at me and they dont know me, said Adrienne Byrne, director of the Sedgwick County Health Department. Im not their pastor, Im not their doctor. We know how important it is to have individuals out in the community.

The program thus far has cost about $17,000, which comes from the countys general fund. The county has enough supplies for 35 ambassadors.

While still in its infancy, the program reflects other community-based efforts around the country, said Elizabeth Ablah, a professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. In Wichita, several of the programs focus on people of color.

Its really based in community-based participatory research, where we have specific communities that we are working with as researchers or educational institutions, Ablah said. Its based on trust and on intentional engagement.

What are Sedgwick County COVID Ambassadors?

Mary Ricketts has heard it all.

In response, she has one thing to say: I understand your concern.

This is one of the primary lessons Ricketts, CEO of Overland Park-basedTurning Point Training & Development, teaches in the two-hour COVID Ambassador training she designed: Its important for the ambassadors to listen and verbalize the concerns of those hesitant about COVID vaccines.

The initial training mainly provides instructionand practice on discussing vaccines with people reluctant to get them. It also provides information about the vaccines and COVID testing in Sedgwick County.

After the initial training, ambassadors can attend a virtual session on the first and third Wednesdays of each month to share their progress and receive additional training. Byrne said these follow-up sessions may include topics such as cultural awareness and unconscious bias training.

Byrne said she also hopes to integrate COVID Ambassadors into the countys events-basedvaccination programs, which take a mobile clinic to the Sedgwick County Zoo and baseball games.

Can Sedgwick County COVID Ambassadors reduce vaccine hesitancy?

Ayres said his conversations havent yet resulted in someone getting vaccinated and Byrne said this held true for the program at large. But Ricketts said vaccination may not happen after the first conversation.

If theres four or five of us that happen to run into the same individual, maybe by the time they get to the third or fourth one, they might be ready, Ricketts said.

The Sedgwick County Health Department observed this pattern at some vaccination clinics operating for several weeks at the same location, such as local food banks. Based on surveys of visitors to those clinics, Deputy Health Department Director Christine Steward said people typically got vaccinated on their first visit or their fourth.

There was a spike the fourth time, Steward said. The nurses that go there have said that they think that people, they got comfortable with them [after] several times of going there.

For now, Ricketts is counting other victories: A COVID Ambassador who convinced someone to sit with them for a conversation about the vaccine for the first time. A Wichita State University student who was inspired to spread the information from the training to his peers.

In terms of successes, Byrne also pointed to surveys showing increased confidence among COVID Ambassadors in discussing the virus and vaccinations with the public.

Everyday people featured in other Sedgwick County COVID literacy efforts

Our strategy was about providing health literacy, and its messengers actually being from within the Black community, said TiJuana Hardwell, project manager of #FactsnotFear. We were very intentional about using everyday people in the commercials.

Featuring Black residents, doctors and nurses had an impact, according to a survey about #FactsnotFear campaign. Over 80% of respondents said their presence in commercials was very important to them and 67% of respondents said the campaign changed their thoughts and behaviors about the disease.

This summer, the City of Wichita received a$4 million grantin partnership with the Wichita Black Alliance and other community organizations to expand #FactsnotFear to reach Hispanic, Asian and Native Americans in the county. The new program is called #FactsnotFearICT.

Ill go so far to say its the same [as COVID Ambassadors], said Angeline Johnson, the project administrator for #FactsnotFearICT. Theres a lot of distrust that exists. Where you get trust is with those you know.

Success of Sedgwick County COVID Ambassadors depends on diverse trainees

Ricketts said the COVID Ambassadors program will be more impactful if it includes diverse participants.

The challenge can be, What if I dont have ambassadors in the most vulnerable communities? Ricketts said.

But the health department does not closely track the demographics of ambassadors.

As we see gaps of there not being representation of all people in our community, we will develop a strategy with how to reach out and see if we can get people at the table, Byrne said.

Ablah also said COVID Ambassadors isnt the end-all-be-all for overcoming vaccine hesitancy. Butone person providing the correct information to peers is a great first step, she said.

When all messages are incorrect, and that is the only person that youre hearing giving a different message then thats an opening, Ablah said.

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County attempts to thwart COVID vaccine hesitancy | Area | derbyinformer.com - The Derby Informer

Supplier Inclusion Program

At Kroger, we know that a diverse supply chain strengthens our business, improves our customer experience and supports our communities.

We take an intentional approach to fostering the growth and development of certified minority- and women-owned business enterprises through our award-winning Supplier Inclusion Program. The program streamlines Krogers procurement process, helping connect businesses of all sizes and sectors with the appropriate decision makers within our enterprise. Over the past 30 years, the program has played an important role in developing Krogers diverse supplier network by helping businesses:

We believe this holistic approach results in strong partnerships and better business outcomes.

A U.S. privately held company that is at least 51% owned and operated by a minority, woman, veteran, person with a disability or a member of the LGBT community.Krogers Supplier Inclusion Program recognizes the following minority classifications:

As Kroger continues to grow, we are committed to doing our part to ensure that diverse businesses have equal footing when partnering with our family of companies, shaping the Kroger customer experience and growing their business with us. Kroger has numerous opportunities for diverse suppliers and our approaches to supplier inclusion are as varied as the businesses and individuals with which we partner.

In 2019, Kroger:

It is the policy of The Kroger Co. that certified Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (MBEs),Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBEs) and other Diverse-Owned Business Enterprises (e.g., Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises; Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender-Owned Business Enterprises, People with Disabilities Enterprises (DBEs) have the opportunity to participate in the performance of Kroger contracts.

Krogers Supplier Inclusion team works hand-in-hand with prospective and established supplier partners to:

We partner with the following national certifying organizations to further our supplier inclusion goals and develop diverse supplier relationships:

Kroger recommends prospective diverse suppliers pursue certification with the appropriate organizations for their business. We also recognize certification from national, state and/or local third-party certifying agencies.

To join our family of suppliers, start with these three steps:

Contact us at 513-762-1582 or supplierdiversity@kroger.com.

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Supplier Inclusion - The Kroger Co.