Category Archives: Progress

Bunky CatBy Sheila MarkowitzGlenwood Springs

Whos that? I asked as I passed by a very large black and white cat looking straight at me from

inside a cage at the Midvalley Animal Shelter. I was there looking for a female kitten to adopt, but this cat caught my eye. I stopped to take a second look.

Oh, thats Bridger, the employee said. Hes been here for about six weeks.

He was found under a bridge in Eagle, hence his name. It was 1997. We had been without a cat for several years. My husband and I thought it was time to have one in our home. I felt something and couldnt just pass this cat by. I asked her to open the cage, which she did.

I kneeled down and immediately Bridger jumped into my lap and sat down. That was that. This was the animal I would be taking home. So, instead of a female kitten, I ended up adopting an 18-pound male cat estimated to be about four to six years old.

A surprise for my husband, but there was something about that cat that endeared us both to him. We didnt care for the name Bridger and remembered a movie we had seen recently entitled The Pope of Greenwich Village. The mother of one of the characters said her deceased son was named Walter, but everyone called him Bunky. We thought that was funny, and so we told everyone who wondered what we named our new cat, that his real name was Walter, but we call him Bunky.

It didnt take long for Bunky to become part of our family. My past experience with cats was that you could leave a dish of dry food out and they would only eat some when hungry. Well, probably because of Bunkys time being alone under the bridge, he was always hungry. After being in our home a few days, he started waddling and had difficulty walking, so we took him to our vet.

The vet said his x-ray showed he was loaded with undigested dry food and we should leave him overnight to be cleaned out. She suggested that we only leave him a small dish of food at home each day, limiting his supply, so this would not happen again. We were starting to learn about our new companion.

If we didnt give him some attention in the morning, Bunky would jump in our bed and whack us on the head with his paw.

He was allowed outdoors and loved to roam around close to home and got to know our neighbors. We later found out that he would visit some, entering their homes, if allowed, even taking a nap on their bed, and of course, eating any food they kindly put out for him!

Twice, he made the front page of the Post Independent, the local newspaper, as they saw him walking through the flowers growing in our front yard.

Bunky was an integral part of our family for over 10 years. We shared many happy times together. He started to show signs of kidney failure and because he was having trouble using the cat box, we sadly decided to keep him in the two rooms in the back part of our house instead of letting him roam around everywhere as he always had. It was a big decision for us, but we were not ready to put him down, as the vet had suggested we do.

We knew during the coming spring, summer and fall months, he would enjoy being out much of the time, and he did. As winter approached, he was inside more and we knew he missed sharing more of our home with us.

I felt sad about this, also knowing that some time in the near future we would need to put him down.

One afternoon, as I was in the kitchen having just returned home from work, I heard Bunky meowing loudly at me from the back room. I called to him, saying I would be there shortly to spend some time with him. As I was removing my shoes, I heard a loud moan from the room and rushed in to see that Bunky was in pain. I sat down by him, put him in my lap and held on to him.

He moaned and died in my arms several minutes later. Im thankful I was with him, able to hold him and comfort him before he died. It always reminds me of the first time we got together at the shelter, more than 10 years before, when I knew he would be coming home with me.

Just in Time By Peter BoltonSaint Stephens Catholic School

As I walk down the stairs, I begin to repeat my presentation and get ready for today at school. As my mother calls, food is ready! I walk into the kitchen and eat my scrambled eggs with cereal. Afterwards, I get my school clothes on, brush my teeth and check my phone when I realize Im already late for school!

I grab my backpack and run out the door. My hair is all wet and my shirt isnt buttoned, but I dont care. I need to get to school before I miss my presentation Ive been preparing for for a week.

I start buttoning my shirt and brushing my hair with my nails as I run up to the front door. I go to turn the handle, but its locked. I start to panic and wonder how am I going to get in for my presentation it starts in six minutes.

I look around for someone to open the door but no one comes. I glance and see an opened window up high. I walk up to see if I can reach it but I cant. I see someone inside the room and I yell through the window. Its my best friend, Devin. He yells back, Hey bud, need some help there?

Yes, I need you to open the front door for me. I need to get inside! I shout.

No-can-do, amigo. I need a key to open the front door, but I might be able to do something else, he says.

What can you do? I ask. He runs out of the classroom.

Im in shock. Did he just leave me outside? I start to panic again and wonder how I am going to get inside my presentation is in four minutes. I try to climb through the window, but I cant because its almost 12 feet high. I see Devin coming back into the room with a ladder. I wonder how hes going to get that through the window

Youve got to trust me, man, he says. He sets up the ladder and climbs onto it, then he reaches through the window to me.

Its my only hope, I think to myself. I jump up and grab his hands, he pulls me up and through the window, scraping my back on the window.

Thank you so much, Devin! Hey, how did you get a ladder in the first place? I ask.

The janitors closet, he replies.

I laugh, Dont you need a key for the janitors closet too? I inquire.

It was left unlocked because the janitor doesnt think he needs to lock it, he said.

We try to make it down to the first floor where the stage is. We head to the door to the staircase. When we pull the handle, it is open thankfully. As we head downstairs, we get confronted by the school security guard, what were you kids doing upstairs?

We were just grabbing our books from our locker and heading back down, I say.

You kids are going straight to the office! he harshly replies.

Devin and I suddenly bolt past him and around a corner. I think we lost him, Devin says. But we have a bigger issue. We have to get past him to get into the stage entrance. Ill distract him while you get past, Devin says.

Just dont get caught and meet me behind the stage after the presentation, I say.

Devin yells, Okay! while he runs down the hall leading the security guard away from the stage and towards him. I sneak past into the stage entrance. As I am about to get on stage, I look at the clock and see that Im right on time.

I walk through the curtains and see everyone cheering me on. I put on the mic and pull out my Bible to spread the word of God

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Work in Progress: May 19, 2022 The Sopris Sun - soprissun.com

Viola Davis joined Variety and Kering at the Cannes Film Festival for a powerful Women In Motion conversation in which she revealed a director once called her by his maids name. The Oscar and Emmy-winning actor was talking about Hollywoods perception of Black actors and how the amount of roles she can play remains limited due to her skin color, even at her A-list stature.

I had a director who did that to me. He said, Louise! I knew him for 10 years and he called me Louise and I find out that its because his maids name is Louise, Davis said. I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.

Davis won an Emmy for her leading role in How to Get Away With Murder, which was one of the only series fronted by a dark-skinned Black woman on television during its six-season run. How to Get Away With Murder from Shonda Rhimes broke down barriers for representation on network TV, but Davis admitted the show didnt necessarily open the door for more TV opportunities for women who look like her.

I know that when I left How to Get Away With Murder that I dont see a lot of dark skin women in lead roles on TV and not even in streaming services, Davis said, in conversation at Cannes with Varietys chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. And that ties into ideology and ethos and mentality, and thats speaking in the abstract. Why arent you hiring a dark skin woman when she walks in the room and you say she blows you away? Create space and storytelling for her so when she thrives shes not thriving despite of her circumstance but thriving because of her circumstance.

Davis stressed that opportunities in Hollywood are still limited. Through her production company JuVee Productions, which she founded with her husband Julius Tennon, Davis is trying to expand the scope of the stories being told in Hollywood (see her upcoming warrior epic The Woman King as an example).

If I wanted to play a mother whose family lives in a low income neighborhood and my son was a gang member who died in a drive by shooting, I could get that made, Davis said. If I played a woman who was looking to recreate herself by flying to Nice and sleeping with five men at the age of 56 looking like me, Im going to have a hard time pushing that one, even as Viola Davis.

Davis once played a supporting role in the Julia Roberts starrer Eat Pray Love, but it sounds like making a version of that story with her in the lead role wouldnt be of interest in Hollywood. The actor said the reason is that people cant reconcile the Blackness with the spiritual awakening and the sexuality. Its too much for them.

While speaking about being rejected for roles in the past, Davis said a lot of the times she was passed over because of her race or because Hollywood talent did not find her pretty enough. The latter reason really gets on my damn nerves, Davis said. It breaks my heart and it makes me angry.

A lot of it is based in race. It really is, Davis added of being rejected. Lets be honest. If I had my same features and I were five shades lighter, it would just be a little bit different. And if I had blonde hair, blue eyes and even a wide nose, it would be even a little bit different than what it is now. We could talk about colorism, we could talk about race. It pisses me off, and it has broken my heart on a number of projects, which I wont name.

Watch Davis full conversation at Kerings Women In Motion talk with Variety in the video below:

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Viola Davis Reveals a Director Called Her by His Maids Name, Speaks Out on Hollywoods Slow Race Progress (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety

WASHINGTON Despite challenges in recent months, there are some positive signs that the nations supply chain is becoming a bit less stressed, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportations (USDOT) Supply Chain Indicators Tracker.

The tracker is part of President Bidens Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen stressed supply chains, as historic levels of goods coming into the U.S., aging infrastructure, the pandemic and geopolitical disruptions continue to cause bottlenecks, congestion and challenges in global markets, a USDOT news release stated.

The total number of container ships waiting for berths at U.S. ports has dropped by 47% since peaking in early February, even as containerized imports increased sharply in March for most U.S. ports, according to the USDOT.

The Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey, collectively the top three for container volume to the U.S., imported 260,000 more containers in March versus February a 12% increase and the all-time highest month for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Overall, U.S. ports imported nearly a half-percent more in the first quarter of 2022 than during the first three months of last year.

Early indications are this strength continued in April, as the Port of Los Angeles announced last week it estimates the port had its second-best April on record.

And real retail inventories excluding autos are at their highest levels in history and more than 8% above pre-pandemic levels.

We remain focused on ensuring U.S. exporters are able to get their goods to market, the news release stated. Our attention continues to be on maintaining lower levels of long-dwelling containers at ports, particularly empty ones that could be re-loaded with U.S. products that are ready for export.

USDOT officials said they are also closely monitoring what they call precarious situations abroad, including in China, where lockdowns could potentially reduce imports and affect our supply chains.

The State Department is providing the Biden administration updates from China and the Commerce Department is closely monitoring impacts to companies and American consumers, according to the USDOT.

Despite the lockdown, the Port of Shanghai remains open and the latest data show that exports from major Chinese ports were down only slightly in April compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, factory shutdowns and trucking delays in China could impact the U.S. supply chain, especially for autos and consumer electronics.

Finally, the task force recognizes industry is paying attention to the West Coast labor negotiations, which are expected to begin this week.

Both parties have recently expressed optimism about getting a deal as West Coast longshore worker union president Willie Adams has said, Weve been doing this over 85 years, and we will sit down, we will get an agreement.

TRACKER BACKGROUND

Over the course of the past year, as part of the presidents Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the USDOT and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture have been part of an administration-wide effort to improve the flow of goods, make the countrys supply chains more resilient and lower prices for Americans, according to the Biden administration.

Freight and logistics supply chains are largely operated by the private sector.

To support greater transparency about the state of the nations transportation supply chains, last fall, the Task Force released a dashboard tracking real-time challenges and progress across four key metrics.

USDOT is continuing to track those four metrics and others to help depict a more complete picture of the current logistics and transportation state-of-play.

USDOTs Transportation Supply Chain Indicators Tracker provides updates on key supply chain data including measures and indicators of intermodal throughput such as volumes of U.S. imports and exports, transportation labor numbers, the number of container ships anchored and loitering near U.S. ports, and more.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

SHIPS AND CONTAINERS

WORKFORCE

RAIL

NON-TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY CHAIN INDICATORS

The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Excerpt from:

USDOT: Nation seeing signs of progress in supply chain as historic level of goods flow in - TheTrucker.com - The Trucker

Top Havas Media Group TV planner Jon Waite has expressed frustration that ad measurement in the burgeoning CTV space is being slowed down by an industry insistence on a single currency that works across multiple platforms.

Speaking at Advertising Week Europes Future of TV Measurement panel, Waite dismissed the need for a consensus on measurement currencies something some in the business have said is vital for its prosperity. He said he is massively frustrated by the industry standards bodies blocking progress.

I dont understand why everyone needs to agree on one methodology and one approach, said Waite. We are all aware that new data and tech is possible but there is a frustration at the industry standards bodies that they havent been quicker to let us do some of these things.

Hinting to trade body-led projects such as Barbs Dovetail, Thinkbox and broadcaster-led C-Flight, as well as Isba-backed Origin, Waite said these projects are slow-moving and likened it to turning a huge cruise ship it all takes so long.

Waite, who heads up Havas Media Groups global activation, said: All the cool stuff that could be easily achieved feels a bit further away and the frustration is you can see it, its right there, but the reality of actually being able to do it feels like hard work.

According to Waite, agencies and brands should just go to independent measurement firms for different needs. Youve always got to be able to say, I paid for a unit of media and therefore there is a currency and I need to pay for that, but how you value that unit of media is very different, he said.

Gareth George, group head of media at RVU, owner of Confused.com, Uswitch and Zoopla, also said it was incredibly frustrating waiting on the bodies. Barb sort of moved in the right direction, but Dovetail is a bit of a joke and it has been for the last decade. Origin is still a couple of years away, C-Flight seems like the best one at the moment, but what is the level of independence within it? he said.

George said brands are asking for the same thing from the bodies theyve asked for years, which is: Who am I reaching and who am I not reaching?

What a lot of people in the industry dont understand is the amount of pressure put on in-house media teams who are accountable to the C-suite, who ask very basic questions like, why are hundreds of millions of pounds being spent in a way that is not accountable? he said.

Elsewhere in the session David Barker, senior vice-president of global commercial partnerships at the TV measurement and adtech group Samba TV, said the competition between currency providers differs in the US to Europe. Because Nielsen is a commercial company, a lot of people can come into the space and jockey for position, Barker explained.

Its a different picture in Europe, where many of the measurement companies, like Barb in the UK, are funded by the broadcasters. In these cases, Samba wants to complement their data and not displace them. Barker claims in the UK Samba has access to more households than Barb, but Barb can offer deeper data. We see it as a collaboration.

Check out the Future of TV hub and subscribe to the newsletter here.

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Top CTV Buyers 'frustrated' By Slow Progress Of Ad Measurement Projects - The Drum

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - The forward progress of the Evita Fire has been stopped and is 100% contained, CAL FIRE Butte County says. The fire was over 17 acres.

CAL FIRE said the fire burned three outbuildings. All threatened homes were saved.

The Butte County Sheriffs Office lifted theevacuationwarning for Eastern Palermo Zone 891 at 4:31 p.m. on Wednesday.

This warning included Wyandotte Creek, east to Railbridge Road and Crestmont Avenue, Mackintosh Avenue and south to south of Nora Way. The warning was issued at 3:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

CAL FIRE Butte County says the fire was located at Railbridge Road and Evita Way.

Crews had dozers, aircraft, crews and engines at the scene. CAL FIRE told Action News Now an additional aircraft out of Sacramento was requested but was sent back shortly after the request.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Follow Action News Now on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, weather and sports in Northern California.

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Fire crews stop forward progress of Evita Fire, evacuation warning downgraded - Action News Now

Diamondbacks, Coyotes reach Regional Quarterfinals

Pioneer seniors have a lot going on. End of year celebrations, banquets and prom. Oh yeah, and Diamondback baseball is back in the third round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

The regional quarterfinal round against Corpus Christi Veterans takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday if necessary. Todays Game 2 is at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg, while Game 3, if necessary, will shift to Hebbronville.

This round is a familiar spot for the program but youd have to go back to 2019, the freshman year of the senior class, to match a run this deep.

Pioneer Diamondbacks catcher David Benitez cuts down an extra run against Corpus Christi Moody with a perfect catchy from the outfield. Progress Times photo by Joe Vela.

Us seniors, we know that this year were never going to get back and we cant let any circumstances take that away from us, senior shortstop Juan Rivera said. Being a Diamondback, being a part of the baseball program is awesome. You get to learn a lot about the game and also outside of the game, life lessons, and how to be respectful.

It was a season that had some adversity with a coaching change during the district campaign. But interim head coach Shawn Shack Moes has the team humming along with a big Game 3 win in the Area round.

Were all excited to be playing, Moes said. There are only 32 teams playing in 5A right now, its exciting. We have a lot of seniors and juniors which helps us out a bunch. It is just another game, but its not. The teams do get tougher, everyone thats still in it is good. The guys attitude is trying to stay even keel and preparing like we would for any other week.

Rivera is keeping his composure as well but cant ignore the excitement of facing a strong test.

We know were going to compete with the best in the state, Rivera said. We just want to go out there and show that to be the best you have to beat the best. Were pumped to compete against a really good ball club.

CC Veterans is 4-0 in the playoffs scoring a combined 41 runs in rounds against Mission Veterans and Weslaco East. Pioneer has best of three series wins over Brownsville Porter and Corpus Christi Moody so far.

Pioneer is on a hot streak of its own. Since an April 8 loss to McAllen Rowe, the Diamondbacks have won every game except last weeks Game 2 in the Area round against Moody. How did the Diamondbacks respond? With 10 runs and a strong pitching performance from senior Abel Anzauldua in Game 3.

We have awesome pitchers. We know 4 or 5 of the guys that we have are going to come out throwing strikes, our defense just needs to work behind them, Rivera said. With these pitchers on our mound, I feel confident in every game that we play in.

One of those pitchers is Angel Larranaga, another senior with plenty of experience in pressure situations.

Weve been working hard since the beginning and lately its been more intense, Larranaga said. We have three aces. Everyone is making all the effort to win. My team has been supporting me even when I was on the injured list and Im in again. I love everyone on this team, every senior, every teammate, all of them.

The senior shortstop says his group is cool, calm and collected no matter where the team is playing. Game 1 was played last night at Whataburger Field, home of the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, while game two is back in the RGV at the UTRGV baseball stadium. First pitch for this game will be tonight at 7 p.m.

The bigger venues, we see it the same, Rivera said. The mounds still 60 feet, the bases are still 90 feet. What matters is whats inside the lines. Weve manifested being in those situations, winning ball games, being in close ball games and it really helps. We can visualize that and be calm in those situations.

Coyotes still standing

Coyote baseball started their Regional Quarterfinal round best of three series against Edinburg Vela last night and will continue with Game 2 tonight and Game 3 (if necessary) tomorrow. La Joya knocked off San Antonio Stevens in their one game winner take all Area round matchup, following a two-game win over Weslaco High in bi-district.

La Joya coach Mario Flores says seeing a district opponent in round three is proof of a challenging district.

It shows how tough our district is, Edinburg Vela is a good program, theyre deep in the playoffs almost every year, Coach Flores said. Our kids feel relaxed, they know Vela is tough but we have to make the routine plays and hit the ball when we have runners on.

Experience is all over the field for the Coyotes, theyll lean on that to try to advance past the foes from nearby.

Theyve played all around, theyve played a lot of big games, a lot of returners who have been here before, Flores said. Our kids know what tradition La Joya holds and thats something they always keep in mind. They always try to compete with our teams in the past to go further [into the playoffs] thats what keeps us up there with the big names.

Game 2 of this series is tonight at 7 p.m. at PSJA Southwest High School and Game 3 (if necessary) is scheduled to be played tomorrow at UTRGV Baseball Stadium at 5 p.m.

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Third Round Bound Progress Times - Progresstimes

Elon Musk has cast further doubt over his $44bn (35bn) takeover of Twitter after stating the deal cannot move forward until the social media company proves that less than 5% of its users are fake or spam accounts.

The Tesla chief executive used his Twitter account to say the agreed deal would not progress until the firm showed proof that only a small proportion of its users were fake.

My offer was based on Twitters SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitters CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.

Twitter said within hours of Musks latest tweet that it remained committed to the deal, as it filed new details on the transaction with the US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Twitter is committed to completing the transaction on the agreed price and terms as promptly as practicable, the company said.

Musk announced last week that the deal was on hold after he queried Twitters claim in SEC filings that a small proportion of its users were fake or spam.

The Twitter chief executive, Parag Agrawal, attempted to address Musks concerns in a lengthy tweet thread on Monday but his efforts to explain the problem with the benefit or data, facts, and context were met with a poo emoji from the worlds richest person.

Musks latest tweet will add to speculation that he is preparing to walk away from the deal, which could trigger a $1bn break fee payable to Twitter, or attempt to strike a new takeover agreement at a price lower than the agreed $54.20 a share.

Twitter shares, which have been affected by speculation that the deal might founder, were trading at $37.39 on Tuesday.

Fake or spam accounts, known as bot accounts, are automated and not run by human users. They may use the reply function or direct messages to send adverts or scams to users, or represent attempts to influence public discourse by tweeting political propaganda.

Other fake accounts exist purely to boost the metrics of individual users, who can buy followers, likes and retweets from bot sellers who control thousands or millions of fake accounts. Because they also inflate Twitters daily user numbers 229m currently they also pose a threat to the companys advertising revenue, which accounts for 90% of its income. However, Twitter has consistently made clear in its quarterly statements since 2014 that it estimates its spam account problem to represent less than 5% of its users.

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Agrawal replied to Musks concerns publicly on Monday with a lengthy thread in which he explained the companys methodology. Agrawal explained that tackling automated spam accounts was a dynamic process that required fighting sophisticated and hard to catch actors. He added that some accounts that had the characteristics of spam accounts were in fact operated by real people.

The hard challenge is that many accounts which look fake superficially are actually real people. And some of the spam accounts which are actually the most dangerous and cause the most harm to our users can look totally legitimate on the surface, he wrote.

He added that estimating Twitters fake account numbers could not be done externally because the process required access to sensitive data such as IP addresses and phone numbers.

On Monday, Musk suggested he could seek to pay a lower price for Twitter because of the fake accounts issue. Speaking virtually at a conference in Miami, he said reducing his agreed $54.20 a share offer would not be out of the question. However, the terms of Musks takeover agreement with Twitter gave him only limited room for manoeuvre, legal experts said.

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Elon Musk: Twitter deal cannot progress without proof on bot numbers - The Guardian

Its a moment weve been building toward new capabilities from Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability that will enable faster, broader transformation for organizations at varying stages of their sustainability journey. We are pleased to announce the general availability of Cloud for Sustainability on June 1.

Now, a growing set of ESG (environmental, social and governance) capabilities from Microsoft and our global ecosystem of partners will give organizations the opportunity to accelerate their progress and business growth.

Watch the video.

To stabilize our future and build more quickly toward a global net-zero carbon economy, organizations of all types, sizes and sectors are facing the need to transform common practices. This includes more effectively managing their environmental footprint, embedding sustainability through their organizations and value chains, and making strategic business investments that drive value. And this starts with solving a data problem.

Organizations need more accessible, centralized data intelligence to make the high-stakes decisions that are required right now to address complex issues, weighing both business and ESG criteria to direct capital toward investment opportunities that balance growth and impact.

Microsoft is energized about helping our customers accelerate their progress. Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solutions will provide the intelligence and data management capabilities organizations need to respond to changes with agility and confidence.

Our own sustainability journey began when we set our first carbon goal more than a decade ago. This led us to better organize our data and realign our companys vision and strategy with our sustainability goals. We continue to build on our commitments to innovate and invest in technologies that address environmental sustainability and to transparently share our achievements and setbacks so that we can all learn together. Were also considering how to deliver on our ESG commitments while continuing to grow our business and drive shareholder value not an easy challenge!

Now, with the release of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, were bringing together powerful capabilities delivered by Microsoft and our partners to help organizations:

Unify data intelligence. To effectively drive sustainability reporting, sustainability efforts, and business transformation, organizations need better visibility into activities across their enterprise and value chain. Collecting and connecting IoT data from devices using sensors combined with rich services at the edge or in the cloud provides the basis to monitor and measure activities at scale. And now, Microsoft Sustainability Manager will empower organizations to more easily record, report and reduce their environmental impact through increasingly automated data connections that deliver actionable insights.

This extensible Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solution centralizes previously disparate data in a common data format and offers organizations an increasingly comprehensive view into the emissions impact of their entire operations and value chain.

Build more enduring IT infrastructures. Organizations can reduce their environmental impact and increase business value when they replace tools, systems, or activities with more efficient options. Moving workloads to the cloud, for example, can increase both carbon and energy efficiencies. Emissions Impact Dashboard applications provide Microsoft customers with transparency into emissions produced from their use of Microsoft cloud services. Devices also contribute to an organizations environmental footprint. Surface devices maximize sustainability of materials and extend product life while minimizing product carbon footprint and energy consumption.

Reduce the environmental impact of operations. With digital solutions delivered through Microsoft and our growing partner ecosystem, were already helping organizations maximize asset and production efficiencies, reduce the environmental impact of their buildings and spaces, and advance their transition to clean energy.

Create more sustainable value chains. Digital technologies are also helping organizations facilitate greater transparency and accountability through their value chain, from raw materials to product creation to distribution. A data-first approach can help organizations achieve data integrity and gain the visibility they need to drive efficiencies, reduce emissions and design out waste.

Much of this important work is being achieved through collaboration with our global ecosystem of partners who have helped us land our ambitions and transform our business. Today, theyre also pivotal to helping customers advance sustainability through robust, innovative solutions powered by the Microsoft Cloud.

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability partner solutions span industries, from transportation to real estate to manufacturing, such as these early solutions that are already in market:

There are many more solutions coming. Our sustainability partner ecosystem also includes trusted advisers like these, who are actively helping organizations plan, design and implement strategies to enable sustainable growth:

Learn more about breakthrough work being done by our sustainability partners on Microsoft AppSource.

Tags: Cloud, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, sustainability

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Accelerate sustainability progress and business growth with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability starting June 1 - The Official Microsoft Blog -...

A report released May 17 by Amnesty International USA finds little progress has been made in reducing the rate of sexual violence against Native American women since an earlier report in 2007.

"At least 56 percent of Native women have experienced sexual violence, and at least one in three have experienced rape, which is 2.2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women, said Tarah Demant, interim national director for programs, government relations and advocacy at Amnesty International USA. But because of the inadequate data tracking that happens by the U.S. government, these numbers are likely actually much lower than reality."

In addition to missing data, the report identifies tangled legal jurisdiction among federal, state and tribal governments, a lack of funding for law enforcement and prosecution as issues hampering efforts to reduce the disproportionate violence.

This lack of commitment by the U.S. government is a complete failure in their human rights obligations over the last 15 years, so ultimately, we couldn't get any headway because it was a broader systemic problem, and because of that lack of commitment by the US government, said Demant.

Data collection is something that the US government is charged with doing, it's their obligation to do, and they collect data on other populations and on other topics. But this just hasn't been prioritized, she said.

Two major pieces of legislation that have helped address the issue in the 15 years since the first Amnesty report are the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Act, which was recently reauthorized by Congress.

Those laws made some progress in giving tribal courts more jurisdiction, but Demant said the process remains confusing and funding is inconsistent.

The Amnesty report calls for full restoration of tribal jurisdiction over crimes committed in Indian country, and increased funding for prosecution, law enforcement and health care.

The Violence Against Women Act created Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction, or SDVCJ, which allows tribal courts to hold some non-Indian defendants charged with domestic violence or violating certain protection orders in Indian country accountable.

In testimony before Congress regarding reauthorizing the VAWA late last year, a Department of Justice official said there were gaps in SDVCJ that undermined tribal efforts to protect survivors and hold offenders accountable.

Over the last 15 years since our last report, we've seen these sort of piecemeal, almost bandaid solutions, said Demant. But what's happening is that the U.S. government has a century of complex and contradictory law, which has created this problem, and the U.S. has to untangle that law in a holistic way. At the center of that is restoring jurisdiction to tribes.

While the Amnesty report found slow progress, Demant said women continue to lead the grassroots push for change.

The work of Alaska Native and American Indian women has persisted through this and continues to build their communities and their safety. And that I think, is very hopeful.

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Report finds little progress reducing violence against Native American women - MPR News

(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser highlighted progress in expanding access to solar energy through DC Green Bank and announced that, since its launch in 2018, DC Green Bank has now committed more than $12 million to community and residential solar projects serving low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents in the District. DC Green Bank reached the $12 million milestone with two recent loan closingsincluding a $7 million deal that is the DC Green Banks largest. In addition to energy savings, the two deals will provide hundreds of District residents a fair shot through construction job opportunities.

We were proud to make DC one of the first cities in the nation to launch a Green Bank, and these projects which are helping us build a more sustainable and equitable DC are a good example of why we wanted to create a DC Green Bank,said Mayor Bowser.By bringing together DC Green Bank and DOEEs Solar for All program, were lowering electric bills, reducing pollution, and creating jobs for DC residents.

The $7 million deal with PosiGen will provide solar energy to low-to-moderate income (LMI) residentsat no cost to themacross approximately 320 residential projects, with the initial slate of installations coming to Wards 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8. A deal of more than $530,000 with Uprise Electric Company will deliver funds for community solar serving 15 residential projects under Solar for All, a program of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) administered by the DC Sustainable Energy Utility.

The PosiGen loan agreement will unlock funding for the construction of up to 3,000 kW of solar capacity. The installations are expected to create hundreds of clean economy jobs in the construction phase. They will also generate more than 3,600 MWh of renewable energy annually, while avoiding more than 2,500 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to an average passenger vehicle driving more than 6 million miles annually.

Under the Uprise deal, more than a dozen LMI District families in the initial 15 projects will see their electricity bills cut by 50%. The deal is expected to create up to 13 clean economy jobs, generate more than 90 MWh of renewable energy, and avoid approximately 64 tons of CO2 equivalent annually which is equivalent to an average passenger vehicle driving more than 160,000 miles.The Uprise deal couples DC Green Banks affordable financing with more than $100,000 from the Solar for All program, as well as an additional pool of capital that will be an incentive to deploy solar installations beyond the initial 15 projects. This is the third year in a row that DC Green Bank has provided financing to a DC-based solar developer to deliver community solar projects through Solar for All.

This is a huge win for the DC Green Bank and for the District as a whole, said DOEE Director Tommy Wells. Community solar is just one of the ways Mayor Bowsers administration is working to secure a cleaner, greener future for the District, and we are so pleased to see these kinds of partnerships growing in the District.

Mayor Bowser introduced legislation establishing theDC Green Bankin 2017 and the law was enacted in 2018 making the District the second city in the country to establish a Green Bank. This policy tool uses public purpose funding to attract private investment in order to expand renewable energy, lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs, and enhance resilience.

We are proud to work with PosiGen and Uprise to expand access to solar and showcase why DC is leading the way on access to clean, renewable energy as well as prioritizing low to moderate income communities under Solar for All, said DC Green Bank CEO Eli Hopson. We cannot build a green and resilient future unless all District residents have access to the benefits, and we are putting up a substantial amount of our capital to demonstrate that this investment model works and delivers incredible results across the board.

Other recent solar announcements include:

The DC Green Bank announcement is part of Mayor Bowsers recognition ofInfrastructure Week, whenthe Mayorishighlightinginvestments in infrastructure and initiatives focused on building a more connected, resilient, and equitable DC.In March, Mayor Bowser announced the creation of the DC Build Back Better Infrastructure Task Force, which will advise on priority projects to be funded through President Bidens Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Task Force is made up of experts from District agencies and external partners who will ensure the Districts effectiveness in securing and deploying federal dollars while creating projects that will impact residents across the District and generations of Washingtonians to come.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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During Infrastructure Week, Mayor Bowser Highlights Progress in Expanding Access to Solar Projects Through DC Green Bank | mayormb - Executive Office...