Category Archives: Progress

Don Riepe, Jamaica Bay Guardian, American Littoral Society, leading last years Shorebird Festival.

This is the best water clarity and quality weve seen in over 100 years in Jamaica Bay, Jamaica Bay Task Force co-chairman Dan Mundy Sr. said at the groups spring meeting this past Tuesday.

Mundy Sr. says that the seal population has increased, and bird species like ospreys, hawks, and bald eagles have all returned a great sign of progress, he said.

Don Riepe, Jamaica Bay Guardian, American Littoral Society, and Task Force co-chairman, discussed recommendations for the new Jamaica Bay Refuge Management Plan, which could continue to build up green infrastructure to further facilitate growth.

The last few years we dropped the ball on management. We need an action plan with a goal of maximizing wildlife habitat, Riepe said, with time frames, a transparent budget, and accountability built in.

Riepe spoke of a Refuge Manager Position to be stationed on site. Also, a mowing plan, with timeframes and goals. The West Pond view shed is quickly disappearing, he added.

Dan Mundy Jr. of the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers spoke about Adjacent Sediment Slurry Enrichment Restoration Potentials for Jamaica Bay (essentially restoring marshes with slurry). He described this process as not a replacement for marsh island building, but a maintenance program to stay ahead of complete wetland island collapse.

There are a lot of opportunities in Jamaica Bay for this type of process slurry enrichment, Mundy Jr. said. And the cost is relatively low. He specifically spoke of opportunities in the interior of the bay, as well as along the shorelines.

John Mcloughlin, NYC DEP managing director, Environmental Protection Bureau of Environmental Planning (ecosystem services, green infrastructure and research) revealed his Jamaica Bay Ribbed Mussel Study.

This is basically about using ribbed mussels as a water quality improvement, Mcloughlin said using mussels in a sub-tidal setting.

He also pointed out that ribbed mussels are capable of filtering out particles as small as bacteria from water.

Ribbed mussels thrive on the restored marshes of the bay. They also help improve water quality and provide an important food resource for birds and marine life, added Don Riepe.

Alex Zablocki, executive director, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, gave an update on the West Pond Living Shoreline Project.

Here are some project facts: 2,400 linear feet of shoreline was restored, with 51,000 cubic yards of sediment, he said. In addition, more than nine acres of habitat was created, and more than 14 acres of habitat restored; 5,000 biodegradable shell-bag breakwater structures, creating a system of breakwaters to attenuate wave energy and protect the edge; 200,000 native grasses and shrubs were planted; 100 fascines (recycled trees) to stabilize the shoreline; and the historic outfall on the north end of West Pond was reconstructed and repaired.

Lisa Baron, project manager, civil works branch, programs and project management(USACE-New York District) also spoke about Jamaica Bay restoration efforts. She discussed pre-construction engineering design (PED) projects, such as the $1,200,000 included in the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Baron also presented planned activities for Stony Creek Marsh Island, which will include executing a design agreement with the NYCDEP by July of this year; and ongoing project management plans, such as field investigations: wetland delineation, and bio-benchmarking (slated for 2023) and eventual construction in 2025.

Baron also discussed the Spring Creek North Ecosystem Restoration project which will consist of the restoration of 47 acres, including 18.3 acres of wetlands, and 29 acres of maritime uplands. Construction is planned for 2023.

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A Great Sign of Progress - The Wave - The Wave, Rockaway's Newspaper Since 1893

Can Ukraine Really Defeat Russia? Over the past few days, a flurry of senior leaders in both Ukraine and Washington have issued defiant claims of not merely resisting Russian aggression, but pushing towards outright victory. While such aspirations are entirely understandable, it is unwise to set policy seeking a preferred outcome if there does not exist a rational path by which Ukraine could accomplish that objective. At present, most indicators, fundamentals of war, and current battlefield trendlines support the prospect of a Ukrainian defeat.

At a speech on Monday on Ukraines Victory Day, commemorating the World War II defeat of Nazi Germany, President Volodymyr Zelensky categorically declared that just as Ukraine defeated its enemy in 1945, we have no doubt that we will win the war against Russia. Zelenskys foreign minister went a step further, adding that Kyiv wasnt merely seeking to win the Battle of Donbas, but defined victory for us in this war will be the liberation of all Ukrainian territories. There has been no shortage of Western voices supporting this idea and in one case, escalating the war.

And thats not all.In an address to the Ukrainian parliament last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Ukraines war with Russia was a straightforward case of good versus evil, and that Ukraine will win; Ukraine will be free. On Saturday, Rep. Seth Moulton said the United States should not merely help Ukraine defend itself, but openly declared the U.S. was fundamentally at war with Russia, via proxy, and its important that we win. One would think that all these increasingly optimistic statements were borne out of tangible evidence that Russia is losing. Instead, nearly the opposite is happening.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines believes Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine and still has aspirations beyond the Battle of Donbas. Haines said he thought the Russian leader was likely to order some level of a national mobilization to support such goals. Evidence on the ground supports such a likelihood and helps explain why Putin is likely to make that move.

After the well-chronicled disaster of Putins opening round of attacks in late February and early March, the Russian military has made a number of effective moves to reorient their efforts, correct tactical and operational deficiencies, and press towards attainable military objectives. Over the past month-plus, Russia has translated those changes into methodical, if slow, battlefield success.

In mid-April, Russia captured the critical transportation hub of Izyum near the northern shoulder of the Donbas lines. Just days ago, after nearly a two-month battle, Putins troops captured another key city in northern Donbas that controls several essential road junctions in Popasnaya. Kremlin forces have now pushed deeper into Severdonetsk, putting Ukrainian troops at risk at Lysychansk, just to the southwest of Severdonetsk.

Russia appears to be using tactics that mimic what worked for them in Mariupol: surrounding a city with ground troops, cutting off Ukrainian forces ability to get reinforcements (or food, water, and fuel), then relentlessly pounding Ukrainian positions with artillery, rocket fire, and airstrikes, progressively shrinking the ring around the city.

Eventually, Russian troops move in with infantry and armor to strike the defenders when they are at their weakest, capturing the city. The pattern has proven effective and is presently being reprised in numerous Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbas. Russias strategy in the Donbas is coming into sharper relief with the capture of each major town, and it doesnt bode well for Kyiv.

There is a pocket-forming around the Ukrainian troops in the northern shoulder of the Donbas. Russia is seeking to surround the UAF troops in this pocket by saturating key Ukrainian strongholds with heavy bombardment, attempting to peel off more cities on the outside of the pocket, progressively forcing UAF defenders either further west or trapping them in the pocket and then destroying them by fire and later ground troops.

After taking Izyum, Popasnaya, and moving on Severdonetsk, Russia is now heavily investing Lysychansk, Kramatorsk, and Slaviansk, each a city of 100,000 or more. There are tens of thousands of Ukraines best, most experienced troops manning the frontlines in the Donbas. If Russia successfully takes enough cities there, cutting the UAF troops off, they can reprise their bloody tactics used to destroy Mariupol.

Russia will seek to surround the defenders on the northern shoulder of the Donbas and slowly starve them of supplies while mercilessly pounding them with heavy weapons. If the northern shoulder is taken by Russia, the remainder of the UAF positions in the central and southern parts of the Donbas already under relentless Russian fire could become untenable.

Whether Putin has enough troops, ammunition, and time to complete the destruction of the UAF positions in the Donbas without mobilizing some portion of its reserve forces is an open question. What is clear, however, is that Russias current operations are slowly strangling Ukrainian troops in the Donbas and that despite optimistic rhetoric out of Kyiv and Western capitals, the battle is trending towards a Russian tactical success, possibly within two months.

Militarily speaking, there is very little hope that even all the promised support of heavy weapons and ammunition from the West can be delivered to the front, the Ukrainian troops adequately trained, and firepower brought to bear in time to change the course.

There is always the possibility that Russia may run out of steam before completing the encirclement, that Ukraine is able to drag the battle out beyond two months, and that a stalemate could be won by Kyiv. But that falls more in the category of hope and is a poor foundation for basing expectations. By ignoring these battlefield realities, the West is setting the stage for potentially compounding its problems.

Ukraines and Western leaders continue making statements that lead their publics to believe that things are getting better, that the war is trending in their favor, and that soon the Western-promised heavy weapons will stop the Russian advance. That remains at best a distant prospect. Basing policy on the expectation of that unlikely (but highly preferred) outcome rather than the realistic possibility that Russia could take the Donbas is unwise and dangerous. Consider the ramifications of this unwillingness to face hard truths.

By continuing to seek a military victory in Ukraine, Ukraines troops will continue fighting, no negotiated settlement will be realistically sought, and most likely Russian troops continue making progress. As a result, more Ukrainian civilians and troops will continue to be killed and wounded, more cities destroyed, and the economic and food crises for both Ukraine and the world will worsen. The most likely outcome will not change (a negotiated settlement, not a Ukrainian military victory), but the cost to Kyiv will be much, much worse.

For the United States and the West, every day this war continues, the risk continues that through someones miscalculation, some accident, or just a foolish act by one side or the other results in a direct clash between Russia and NATO, trigging an Article 5 situation that could drag the United States into a war with a nuclear superpower. However altruistic it may be to want to help Ukraine defend itself from this Russian invasion, there is nothing at stake in Eastern Europe that is worth getting drawn into a potential nuclear war with Russia; a war from which we may not survive.

Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a Javelin anti-tank missile during drills at a training ground in an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released February 18, 2022. Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo

Gambling that current battlefield trends dont hold, hoping that Ukraine can hold on in the Donbas, and believing that UAF will eventually drive Russia back to its country, do the people of Ukraine a disservice. Even if it works out that way an improbable prospect it would take years to accomplish and result in such a staggering loss of Ukrainian life that it would be a pyrrhic victory. The better course is to engage in negotiations to do whatever it takes to end the fighting, end the killing of Ukrainian people, and hasten the day when rebuilding can start. However, continuing to base policies on pride and hope will almost certainly cause thousands more preventable deaths in Ukraine.

Now a 1945 Contributing Editor, Daniel L. Davis is a Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and a former Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army who deployed into combat zones four times. He is the author of The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America. Follow him @DanielLDavis1.

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Russia's Progress in Donbas Means Ukraine Likely Won't Win the War - 19FortyFive

Clemson dealt with a slew of injuries this spring, as evidenced by the fact that nearly two dozen scholarship players were unavailable for the Orange & White Spring Game.

However, the Tigers are making good progress on the injury front according to head coach Dabo Swinney.

TCI asked Swinney at the Prowl & Growl event at Jamil Temple in Columbia on Wednesday if he is pleased with the progress his team is making from an injury standpoint coming out of the spring.

Absolutely, Swinney said. (Freshman cornerback Jeadyn) Lukus dove for a ball and hurt his shoulder and we had to fix that, and then (freshman wide receiver) Adam Randall tore his ACL. Both those guys are doing great.

The rest of the guys I think we had 21 guys out for the spring game, but they were all season guys coming off of season injuries and surgeries and postseason surgeries and theyre doing well. Were in a really good spot right now, and so hopefully we can build on that.

Swinney added he anticipates most players being full go by June 1.

I think by the time we start our Summer I we start Summer I the 16th of May but the 23rd, I think most of our guys will be back in here and kind of getting back into the offseason program, he said. Id say by June 1, well pretty much have everybody full go outside of just a couple of guys.

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Swinney gives post-spring injury progress report - The Clemson Insider

Universal Orlando Resort still has some growing pains to account for in its daily operations. Epic Universe is currently under construction for its 2025 opening, but older attractions in Universal Orlandos legacy park are either being removed or refreshed. Revenge of the Mummy is one of the rides that falls into the latter category, and while its made some progress towards its eventual summer reopening, the rumors surrounding Brendan Frasers fate in the attraction are still up in the air.

Its still going to be some time until the late summer time frame that this long running ride will be reopened, but Inside Universal snapped some pictures of the progress. Showing the front courtyard area for Revenge of the Mummy now exposed to the public, the construction walls have been pushed back a bit. Also, the overall entrance signage to the attraction looks to have gotten a fresh coat of paint, and those walls hiding the hard work beyond them are still covered with Universal Monsters posters.

Unfortunately, no one knows whats going on inside of Revenge of the Mummys extensive refurbishment, which started in January. Which means theres still no confirmation as to whether or not the 2004 roller coaster is indeed trying to remove Brendan Frasers appearance in both the ride queue and the coaster itself. However, this update may have debunked a previous theory that came up in passing.

Previously, it was rumored that a classic Universal Monsters retheming was in the works. If that potential fresh coat of paint on the entrance is any sign, Revenge of the Mummy just might be here to stay. So while Brendan Fraser could still be removed from the attraction altogether, at the very least the coaster itself will still be in operation for the foreseeable future.

I understand that attractions need to be refreshed in major theme parks like Universal Orlando Resort, or even Universal Studios Hollywood. We recently caught wind of a rumor that stated the Fast Saga might get a drifting coaster in the latter park, and thats an exciting example of improving something that fans have seen as a mixed bag at best. That being said, parkgoers have enjoyed the Brendan Fraser aspect of Revenge of the Mummy, and its kind of an iconic piece to the experience.

As Fraser enjoys the current career renaissance thats seeing him take roles like Firefly, the villain in DCs Batgirl film, the urge of nostalgia might override that of innovation. Again, no one really knows whats being altered or refurbished on Revenge of the Mummy, and its still too early to tell. Well have to wait and see what the late summer brings to Universal Orlando Resort, but thankfully theres still plenty of other awesome rides to check out in the process. Perhaps one of those queues could spare some room for Brendan Frasers lovable likeness.

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Revenge Of The Mummy's Refurbishment Has Made Some Progress, But There's Still No Update On Brendan Fraser's Fate In The Attraction - CinemaBlend

The USDA released its fifth Crop Progress report Monday afternoon. These reports run weekly through the end of November and look at the progress and condition of various crops on a national and state-by-state scale.

As of Sunday, the report pegged corn planted at 14%, compared with 33% for the previous five-year average; 3% has emerged compared with 6% for the previous five-year average.

As of Sunday, the report has 8% of soybeans planted, compared with 13% for the previous five-year average.

Spring wheat planted was reported at 19% compared with 28% for the prior five-year average; 5% has emerged compared with 7% for the previous five-year average.

Winter wheat headed came in at 23% vs. the 29% five-year average.Winter wheat condition was 27% good/excellent and 43% poor/very poor. This compares with the previous year average of 48% good/excellent and 19% poor/very poor.

Oats planted was reported at 45% vs. the five-year average of 58%, and 31% of oats had emerged as of May 1, compared with 40% for the previous five-year average.

The report also indicated that nationwide, topsoil moisture is rated as 53% adequate and 15% surplus. The previous year was 55% adequate and 8% surplus.

"The really important benchmark to watch is the USDA Crop Progress report that will be released on Monday, May 9," says Al Kluis, Kluis Commodity Advisors. "Last year that report showed corn planting at 67% and the five-year average that week should be at 52%. Usually (but not every year), it is hard to get a trend line yield in the U.S. if the corn crop is not at the 50% planted mark by May 10."

About the report:Crop progress and condition estimates are based on survey data collected each week from early April through the end of November, according to the USDA. The non-probability crop progress and condition surveys include input from approximately 3,600 respondents whose occupations provide them opportunities to make visual observations and frequently bring them in contact with farmers in their counties. Most respondents complete the questionnaire on Friday or early Monday morning and submit them to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) field offices in their states by mail, telephone, fax, email, or through a secured internet website. A small number of reports are completed on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Regardless of when questionnaires are completed, respondents are asked to report for the entire week ending on Sunday, according to the Crop Progress Report.

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Corn and soybean planting progress still behind five-year averages - Successful Farming

What can these up-and-coming Timberwolves learn from their 1st playoff series loss?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Timberwolves flourished in their first full season under coach Chris Finch, leading the NBA in scoring, improving on defense and reviving their long-frustrated fan base while reaching the playoffs for the first time in four years.

They pushed the Memphis Grizzlies hard once they got there, too, outplaying the No. 2 seed in the majority of games before those fourth quarter failures became too much to overcome. The Grizzlies won the first-round series in six games.

More progress is no guarantee in this league, though. Taking the step to be where Memphis is this weekend with fellow Western Conference semifinalists Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas will be tough enough. There are other teams to fend off, too.

The Clippers will be healthy. Who knows what the Lakers are going to do? Denver should be healthier. So theres definitely teams thatll be rising up, Finch said. Theres also those teams that end up kind of puking on themselves, and we just cant be one of them.

Check out some of KAT's most ferocious slams from the regular season.

After so much turnover throughout the career of franchise centerpiece Karl-Anthony Towns with players, coaches and executives the Timberwolves have finally established a chemistry and a culture that works, even if theyll need to make more adjustments and enhancements to the roster.

Everyone wants to go to the same hotel room and hang out with each other, Towns said. Its very funny to see 15 millionaires arguing about pizza. We could all just buy our own pie at that point.

The exit interviews with players on Saturday morning were revealing to Finch.

Nobody had any plans. Nobody had given much thought about what theyre going to do now, which means they were still completely locked in, thought they were going to win, thought we would be moving on to a Game 7 and beyond, Finch said.

The Grizzlies became the first team in NBA history with multiple victories in a playoff series after facing fourth-quarter deficits of 10 points or more, a feat they accomplished three times against the Wolves. Finch repeatedly pointed to the drawback of hero ball, when their leading scorers Towns, Anthony Edwards and DAngelo Russell stagnate the offense by valiantly but overconfidently trying to win the game with one big shot.

The Timberwolves have been losing big leads in the 4th quarter because they are not playing smart basketball.

The long-term benefit to the lost late leads against the Grizzlies was the way it exposed the weaknesses in their game.

I think thats something that now resonates with the players, when youre harping on it on a daily basis, but they havent yet really paid the price for it. Those are just lessons that you learn. Do not touch that, its hot, type stuff, Finch said.

Finch said he didnt think the Wolves ever ultimately maximized the collective abilities of Towns, Edwards and Russell in a symbiotic way this season.

The Grizzlies had success double-teaming Towns in the post, as one example of an area of growth. Edwards had 151 points in the series, the most in franchise history for a playoff series, but his performance was uneven at times, too.

I still dont make a lot of reads that I should make to soften the defense up, but I will after this summer, Edwards said. Just watching film, knowing what to expect, how theyre going to guard you, what theyre going to throw at you.

Russell will enter the final season of the maximum contract he signed as part of the trade that sent him from Brooklyn to Golden State three years ago, and its not clear yet whether the Wolves will commit to him as part of the core with Towns and Edwards beyond the upcoming season.

The seventh-year veteran had an up-and-down series. Backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin was running the offense so effectively down the stretch in Game 6 that Russell spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench, an understandable decision by Finch that Russell predictably said he was not happy with. Russell also acknowledged his on-court chemistry with Towns has been rocky over the two years theyve been together, interrupted often by injuries and COVID-19.

I think were such fans of each other that we found a way to make it work in moments where you probably didnt have the chemistry, Russell said.

The sudden dismissal of Gersson Rosas as president of basketball operations right before the season began led to the elevation of Sachin Gupta to the role on an interim basis, and his status has yet to be finalized. Finch, who was given a contract extension earlier this month, has made it clear he wants to continue working for him.

Hes been a huge reason that we have stability in this organization right now, Finch said.

Edwards gets most of the spotlight, but the other player the Wolves plucked in that 2020 draft, Jaden McDaniels, has given them another promising building block as an athletic, reliable two-way forward. He set a team postseason record in Game 6 on Friday with 24 points off the bench.

The sky is the limit for both of us and where we can be in the next couple years, McDaniels said. Im just excited to see that.

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Wolves realize progress from 1st-round exit not a given - NBA.com

The Burbank City Clerks Office is accepting applications for the upcoming vacancies on the following:

The Burbank City Clerks Office is accepting applications for these upcoming vacancies beginning May 2, 2022, through June 1, 2022. Applications may be submitted online, please visit http://www.burbankca.gov/bccapplication or pick up an application in the City Clerks Office located in City Hall at 275 East Olive Avenue, First Floor. For more information, please contact the City Clerks Office at (818) 238-5851 or by email at cityclerks@burbankca.gov.

The deadline to submit an application to the City Clerks Office is Wednesday, June 1, 2022, by 5:00 p.m. Applications may be submitted online at http://www.burbankca.gov/bccapplication. The appointments are tentatively scheduled to be made at the July 12, 2022, City Council Regular Meeting.

All City Board, Commission, and Committee members serve without compensation from the City. No individual shall serve on more than one Board, Commission, or Committee at the same time. All applicants must be electors of, and actually reside in the City of Burbank, with the exception of the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission and the Sustainable Burbank Commission. [Per BMC Sections 2-1-405, 2-1-406, 2-1-407]

On October 12, 2021, the Burbank City Council adopted the City of Burbank COVID-19 Employee Vaccination Policy. The Burbank City Council included Board, Commission, and Committee Members in this Policy. Pursuant to the Policy, the City of Burbank now requires all Board, Commission, and Committee Members to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or request either a religious or medical exemption in order to serve on a City Advisory Body. A copy of the Policy and forms can be found on the City Website. Vaccination documentation will not be disclosable to the public.

*Per the Burbank Municipal Code, those designated with a checkmark are required to file Form 700, Statement of Economic Interest, within 30 days of assuming office and annually thereafter.

*Members of the Board of Library Trustees, Burbank Water, and Power Board, Infrastructure Oversight Board, Planning Board, and Police Commission are required to complete AB1234 Ethics Training upon appointment and bi-annually thereafter.

For more information please contact the Burbank City Clerks Office at (818) 238-5851 or cityclerks@burbankca.gov.

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Want to Get Involved in Burbank's Decision Making Progress? - MyBurbank.com

Novak Djokovic, the top seed this week at the Mutua Madrid Open, has been eager for competitive match play as he ramps up his activity on the ATP Tour. He got that and more in Belgrade, where he played four three-setters in a runner-up finish at his hometown Serbia Open.

Though he lost to Andrey Rublev in a three-set final "running out of gas", as he described it Djokovic left the ATP 250 event happy with his performance.

"I was looking to spend more time on the court, and that's what I got. So of course playing finals is a good result and I have to be positive about it," he said in a Madrid pre-tournament presser.

"I like a lot of things about the way I was hitting the ball. Of course it's not at the level still where I wish it to be. It is a process, and I have to be patient. Hopefully things will progress in the right direction also this week."

While Djokovic attributes the gaps in his game to his lack of match play, he feels his fitness struggles are due to lingering effects from an illness he had prior to Monte Carlo.

"But [it was] different in Belgrade than it was in Monaco," he explained of his fitness level. "Knowing that I played four almost-three-hour matches and long, three-set battles gives me enough reason to believe that it's headed in the right direction.

"I had a very good week of training now, put more emphasis on fitness and building the stamina and endurance, because that's what's going to be necessary in order to compete with top guys on the slowest and physically most demanding surface in our sport."

Djokovic will open his Madrid campaign against Gael Monfils or Spanish wild card Carlos Gimeno Valero. His last-16 matchup promises to be an enticing one against one of Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, Denis Shapovalov and Ugo Humbert.

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Novak Djokovic Hopeful Of Further Progress In Madrid - ATP Tour

At the start of each new Congress, Heritage Foundation analysts recommend pro-life policies to Congress and the Administration.REF The following year, a progress report analyzes whether and how those policies have been enacted.REF During the Trump Administration, policymakers followed many of these suggestions and achieved significant pro-life policy victories.

In 2021, the tide turned against life. The Biden Administration enjoys a narrow pro-abortion majority in the House with a divided Senate (in which Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie). This has allowed policymakers to roll back key pro-life victories and advance policies that violate the right to life of every human being. The pro-life policy landscape will be more dynamic than ever for the remainder of the 117th Congress. By this summer, the Supreme Court will issue a highly anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health OrganizationREF and may finally overturn Roe v. Wade.

This Backgrounder provides an important snapshot on the status of pro-life policy and legislative and administrative dynamics under the current legal regime. By taking stock of where we are and where we have come from with respect to pro-life policy, this Backgrounder sets the stage for The Heritage Foundations forthcoming road map for legislating in a post-Roe world.

As expected, in 2021 the pro-life cause came under siege. An energized and well-funded abortion lobby and its allies in Congress sought to reverse long-standing consensus pro-life policies and promote radical alternatives.

The Equality Act. The Equality Act redefines sex discrimination in federal civil rights law to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Such a policy would gut a host of vital pro-life policies and protections.REF It would open the door to taxpayer-funded abortions at the state and federal level, purge statutory pro-life conscience protections in health care, and nullify hard-fought court battles that protected religious freedom for people like the Little Sisters of the Poor.REF The Equality Acts harms also go far beyond the issue of life, and are discussed in other Heritage Foundation publications.REF

The Equality Act passed in the House on February 25, 2021.REF The next month, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill, but it has not yet been brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Proponents acknowledge that the bill does not have the 60 votes it needs to advance in the upper chamber.REF Policymakers should continue to reject this harmful policy.

The Womens Health Protection Act (WHPA). The so-called Womens Health Protection Act is the most pro-abortion bill ever considered in Congress. It passed in the House of Representatives on September 24, 2021, but on February 28, 2022, it fell short of the 60 votes required to advance in the Senate.REF

The WHPAs defenders claim that the bill simply codifies Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion-on-demand across the country. While this would be bad policy on its own, this act goes far beyond Roe. It would mandate an abortion regime far more radical than that put in place by Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.REF The act endangers both current and future state and federal laws that protect unborn childrens lives, womens health and safety, medical providers consciences and religious liberty, laws that separate tax dollars from the abortion industry, and more.REF

Americans across the country believe that women and children deserve better than abortion and broadly support policies that the WHPA would prohibit. Americans want to help women who face a difficult or unplanned pregnancy. Rather than take away Americans role in pro-life policymaking, Congress should seek to protect unborn human children and their mothers.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was proposed by Congress in 1972 but not ratified before the legal deadline, therefore it is no longer viable. But that has not stopped Congress from trying to resurrect it in some form. In recent years, this has included treating the 1972 amendment as still pending before the states, reintroducing the original ERA, and proposing a new ERA. As a Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum explains, each of these strategies will fail.REF

Policymakers should understand that an ERAif ever ratifiedcould provide a separate basis for a right to unrestricted abortion and mandatory taxpayer funding of abortion. In fact, courts have interpreted state-level ERAs and similar state equal rights measures to require taxpayer-funded abortions in states including New Mexico and Connecticut.REF The original objectives of the ERAthat is, equality under the law between men and womenhave been effectively furthered through legislatures and courts. Policymakers should abandon attempts to bring back the 1972 ERA from the historical graveyard or to promote a reincarnated version.

Pro-Life and Conscience Rights Policy Riders. Congressional leadership and President Biden have called for Congress to strip policy riders like the Hyde Amendment from appropriations legislation. The Hyde Amendment has, since its inception in 1976, prohibited federal funds from being spent on abortions. It has saved 2.4 million lives and counting.REF The current Hyde Amendment applies to programs funded through the annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill, such as Medicaid and Medicare.REF

Over the years, the spirit and goals of the Hyde Amendment have been incorporated in other contexts as well, such as

But the Hyde Amendment and these other pro-life policy protections have been under constant threat during appropriations debates. Proposals in both the House and Senate have lacked these key protections. Other at-risk protections include policies such as

Notably, Congress has recently passed short-term continuing resolutions rather than new fiscal year (FY) appropriations bills. Under these continuing resolutions, pro-life riders still applied. At the beginning of the 117th Congress, 200 RepresentativesREF and 48 SenatorsREF opposed a funding bill that weakens pro-life measures such as the Hyde Amendment. Members reaffirmed that commitment for 2022.REF In March, Congress advanced a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending billREF for FY 2022 that retained existing pro-life riders. Congress must resist all attempts to weaken pro-life and conscience riders in future appropriations bills.

New Funding Streams Without Pro-Life Protections. Several times Congress has failed to incorporate policy riders like the Hyde Amendment to prevent new funding streams outside the traditional appropriations process from funding abortions. For example, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan lacked Hyde language. This means billions in new spending were allocated without Hyde protections to ensure these dollars cannot be spent to fund or promote abortion.REF

The behemoth $3.5 trillion Build Back Better proposal raises similar concerns.REF When Congress first began the budget reconciliation process, the Senate voted on a bipartisan basis for an amendment calling for the budget tocomplywith pro-life policies like the Hyde Amendment. Though nonbinding, the amendment showed that policymakers would continue the long-standing consensus that tax dollars should not fund elective abortions. However, the House passed a version of the bill which lacked Hyde protections. The Build Back Better proposal has now stalled in the Senate.

President Biden, at the behest of the abortion industry, has pursued a pro-abortion agenda both at home and abroad. His Administration:

The Biden Administration will continue its assault on life and conscience rights, particularly via HHS, which has repeatedly underminedand been outright hostile towardconscience rights.REF HHS intends to rescindREF a Trump Administration regulation that strengthenedREF enforcement of long-standing conscience rights statutesincluding those that protect individuals and health care entities from discrimination based on their moral or religious convictions regarding abortion.

HHS has also indicated that it intends to propose rulemaking regarding Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act,REF modifying existing sex discrimination provisions to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity. Among the harms of such a change, which are extensive,REF the proposal would extend the definition of sex discrimination to encompass reproductive health decisions and termination of pregnancy. People or entities with objections to dangerous and experimental interventions such as gender transition treatments or abortion procedures could find themselves nonetheless required to perform them, including on minors.REF

At the federal level, pro-life policymakers must remain vigilant. Even if the Supreme Court corrects a grave error and overturns Roe,REF President Biden and his allies in the House and Senate will push pro-abortion policies through legislation. Abortion advocates are also calling on the Administration to advance abortion through other means. For instance, they are urging the Food and Drug Administration to argue that its regulations permitting telemedicine abortion preempt state laws to the contrary and calling for the federal government to lease land to abortion clinics. This could mean that an abortion clinic could operate on certain federal land even within a pro-life state.REF

Pro-life policymakers are not powerless. They should be laser-focused on defending current pro-life language that protects life, conscience rights, and religious freedom in federal spending bills. They should also resist every effort to advance radical pro-abortion laws and continue to hold the Biden Administration accountable by conducting robust oversight of federal agencies and administrative decision-making.

The Supreme Court has the chance to correct the grave error of Roe v. Wade, which has poisoned our laws, our courts, and our culture. If they do, policymakers will have more opportunities to protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of our human family. But with a pro-abortion President and narrow pro-abortion majorities in the 117th Congress, pro-life policymakers will still face challenges. Regardless of what happens at the Supreme Court, protecting existing pro-life policies and blocking new pro-abortion legislation must be key priorities as the policy landscape evolves in 2022.

Of course, federal policymakers should not just play defense. As will be discussed in the Heritage Foundations forthcoming road map for a post-Roe America, Congress must be forward-looking and prepare for post-Roe policymaking by introducing legislation that would protect unborn children from abortionists who profit from their deaths.

This means using all available constitutional authority to protect the youngest among us in states that refuse to protect them from abortion after their heartbeats can be detected. This means continuing the work to protect babies who survive abortions, to stop the interstate flow of abortion drugs, and to stop taxpayer dollars from funding the abortion industry. This means ensuring that nobody is forced to violate his or her moral or religious convictions by participating in abortion. Finally, policymakers must commit to the central goal of the pro-life cause: to see the day when every person, from the moment of conception, is protected in law and welcomed in life.

Melanie Israel is a Policy Analyst in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at The Heritage Foundation.

Read the original:

Pro-Life Progress Report for the 117th Congress and Administration - Heritage.org

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When Anat Ashkenazi became CFO of Eli Lilly in 2021, she noticed a data point that was frustrating: she was the only female CFO in the biopharma sector.

Her path had been relatively easy, she says, moving to the U.S. from Israel 21 years ago and coming from a substantially different culture in which gender inequality was less of an issue. "I was never thinking about being the only women in the room," said Ashkenazi, a CNBC CFO Council member.

Though two more female CFOs have been appointed within the biopharma sector since Ashkenazi became Lilly's CFO and there are some very high-profile female CFO examples to cite, including Ruth Porat of Alphabet and Christine McCarthy of Disney the overall numbers for female CFOs remain relatively low relative to the population and educational degree data.

The U.S. is doing better than some countries, with its 15% of female CFOs at large companies above the global average of 13%, according to Equileap data, but it is well below some close peers, such as Canada, which is at 19%.

"Everyone is low and the U.S. doesn't do great," said Equileap co-founder and CEO Diana van Maasdijk.

Worldwide, across the 4,000 companies included in Equileap's research, only 1% have a female CFO and female CEO.

"The adage that it's lonely at top it becomes lonely at an even earlier management level, director or v.p. level, and at the CFO level even lonelier," said Carolyn Childers, co-founder and CEO of Chief, a professional network focused on trying to get women senior in their careers into the ultimate positions of power "and keep them there," Childers said.

Equileap's data matches that of Crist|Kolder Associates, the U.S. search firm, which analyzes C-suite composition across the S&P 500 and Fortune 1000, and reported that as of last year, the U.S. was just under 15% female CFOs.

While many headlines have cited the progress, Josh Crist, co-managing partner of the search firm, who focuses on financial officers, takes another view. "That is a number that is extraordinarily low," he said. "Gender diversity is ahead of racial diversity in the CFO position and C-suite, but not by much. It's a numbers game, and a population numbers game, and we are talking about a massive gap."

Ashkenazi is focused on the issue of how to get more women into the CFO position, and at a broader level, how to understand the journey of women in the corporate world. Lilly conducted an internal study in recent years to track the career progress of women, and overlay it with other demographic factors, such as race and ethnicity, to get a better sense for why women in the world of work may stall at certain levels. "We wanted to know why women didn't advance, and the conclusions are not unique to Lilly," she said. "But not many companies are spending a lot of time and resources on it," she added.

She estimates getting to gender equality in the C-suite could take 30 years to 40 years.

It could take even longer, according to Equileap. Women have been coming out of universities with good degrees since the 1970s, at least an equal number of degrees if not more degrees than men, and so it has been quite some time they could have been placed into these positions.

"CFOs are 15%, but CEOs are 6% in a country that is the strongest economy in the world with amazing universities and degrees. How is that possible?" Van Maasdijk said. "We believe the right number is 40% to 60%. If you go beyond that then it is no longer balanced, but 51% of the population of the world is female."

At the current rates of progress, a gender equality target that matches the population may not be reached for another seven generations, according to Equileap. "That's not just daughters or granddaughters," Van Maasdijk said.

What's to be done?

Changing how the C-suite conducts searches is key.

Crist says this starts with the composition of an interview slate, in which diverse candidates still represent the subset candidates. Searches need to be tilted to 75% of the slate being diverse rather than 25%. The latter is more common today for example, four of twelve candidates being diverse, rather than eight out of twelve.

And the four who are invited for interviews are often the same few people on a list who get pinged and are having conversations with multiple other companies, according to Childers. "The same people are always getting picked and we need to think more broadly about the qualifications rather than a specific CFO at X company," she said.

What often happens, according to Crist, is companies will say they want to be more diverse, but a "best candidate" approach leads to many good candidates being overlooked.

CFO searches aren't easy, according to Childers, and can be the most time-intensive within the C-suite, and that means an already long process to find the right person can become even longer when a priority is ensuring diversity for the role. "They go after exactly what makes sense and often not what diversity shows you, because you have to stretch a little," she said.

Getting to 75% diverse candidates may mean there is no industry overlap in candidates, and less total years of experience. But boards are starting to realize the "best" available may not be in their industry. "Boards are stuck in this 'we check boxes during recruitment and if we don't check boxes we are not successful in recruiting' mindset," Crist said.

The mindset needs to evolve throughout the talent pipeline as well, well below the C-suite level.

The NFL's recent decision under fire and facing a lawsuit from several Black coaches over discrimination in hiring to mandate that every team has a minority offensive assistant coach, is an example of how intentionality in designing talent pipelines is required. There is a greater likelihood of the next coach being diverse based on the data showing the history of where head coaches are sourced from.

"You would think a company of 100,000 employees would have someone they could train to take on that roll eventually," Crist says. "A lot falls on the companies themselves. With a finance function 3,000 people for a Fortune 50 company, you would think there would be someone very skilled and diverse."

According to Equileap, the target level for candidates being interviewed for open roles should be 50/50 across an organization, forcing search teams out of the smaller circles of candidates who they think are the right interviews.If companies reach 50-50 in the recruitment pipeline, it will break this cycle.

And getting more women into CFO roles, specifically, will lead to greater board representation, according to Childers, because boards are looking for CFOs to serve on audit committees. "It unlocks the next opportunity," she says.

When all else fails and the data shows that today that case can still be made legislation is another option. Equileap's data from the past five years shows a clear correlation between legislation and better representation. France has a requirement for 40% of a board of directors' members to be women, and the nation's corporate sector reached the target.

Many times, governments don't want to get involved in the corporate sector, and more research is showing that recent financial performance of companies has been better with more gender balance. Equileap's work on the Russell 1000 from 2014 through the present shows that companies with higher gender equality scores outperformed those with the lowest scores.

France's experience with the the board legislation was so successful it is now asking for the C-suite to also be 30% women, going up to 40% in a few years.

"We can't find the women is not an excuse, it is a matter of where you are looking and how you are looking," according to Van Maasdijk.

But Equileap's CEO says even with the data on financial performance and diversity, the truth today remains largely that "when legislation is forcing, it happens, and when there isn't legislation, it doesn't happen."

In 2018, California became the first U.S. state to pass a law mandating gender diversity on corporate boards based in the state. That coincided with a period of rising female representation on boards. In 2020, the state went farther, with a law requiring publicly traded companies based in California to have at least one board member from among underrepresented races, ethnic groups and the LGBTQ community. But a California court recently ruled the 2020 law unconstitutional.

The summary judgment against the state from Judge Terry Green of Los Angeles County Superior Court didn't explain the court's reasoning, though the judge had previously described the law as "a bit arbitrary."

The successful lawsuit from conservative-leaning legal group Judicial Watch argued that the California law violated the state's constitutional equal protection clause, while the state argued that the measure didn't discriminate. California also noted that while firms can be fined for not complying with the law, the state had taken no action against any companies even though many in the state had yet to comply with the law's disclosure requirement.

The 2018 law on gender diversity faces a separate legal challenge brought by Judicial Watch. It is also targeting a Nasdaq rule on corporate diversity for companies listed on its exchange.

Childers says legislation should be a last resort.

"I hope it doesn't take legislation and I have optimism about what has happened over the past few years," she said. "We used to be in a world where the C-suite still needed to be told the business case for diversity. Now they know the business case, but the action hasn't started. I would hope it would start without the force function of legislation, but we have been an advocate of legislation where action is not happening fast enough."

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By the numbers, corporate progress on gender diversity is a failure - CNBC