Secretary Perdue Statement on EPA WOTUS Rule
(Washington, D.C., January 23, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule:
“President Trump is restoring the rule of law and empowering Americans by removing undue burdens and strangling regulations from the backs of our productive farmers, ranchers, and rural land-owners. The days are gone when the Federal Government can claim a small farm pond on private land as navigable waters,” Secretary Perdue said. “I thank President Trump and Administrator Wheeler for having the backs of our farmers, ranchers, and producers and for continuing to roll back Federal overreach. With reforms and deregulation, Americans once again have the freedom to innovate, create, and grow.”
Background:
On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) fulfilled yet another promise of President Trump by finalizing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule to define “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). For the first time, the agencies are streamlining the definition so that it includes four simple categories of jurisdictional waters, provides clear exclusions for many water features that traditionally have not been regulated, and defines terms in the regulatory text that have never been defined before. Congress, in the Clean Water Act, explicitly directed the Agencies to protect “navigable waters.” The Navigable Waters Protection Rule regulates these waters and the core tributary systems that provide perennial or intermittent flow into them. The final rule fulfills Executive Order 13788 and reflects legal precedent set by key Supreme Court cases as well as robust public outreach and engagement, including pre-proposal input and comments received on the proposed rule.
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule protects the environment while respecting states, localities, tribes, and private property owners. It clearly delineates where federal regulations apply and gives state and local authorities more flexibility to determine how best to manage waters within their borders. Assertions have been made that the new rule will reduce jurisdiction over thousands of stream miles and millions of acres of wetlands. These assertions are incorrect because they are based on data that is too inaccurate and speculative to be meaningful for regulatory purposes. The final rule along with state, local, and tribal regulations and programs provide a network of protective coverage for the nation’s water resources.
To learn more about EPA’s WOTUS Rule, click here
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POWDR AND MAMMUT ANNOUNCE NEW APPAREL, EQUIPMENT AND MARKETING PARTNERSHIP
Mammut to Outfit More Than 8,000 POWDR Employees as the Official Uniform
and Technical Safety Equipment Supplier
Park City, UT, Jan. 22, 2020 – POWDR, an adventure lifestyle company with destinations across North America, announced today a new long-term partnership with Mammut, the leading Swiss-born premium outdoors brand, with more than a century of experience in producing mountain safety equipment, technical apparel, and accessories for outdoor activities.
The partnership makes Mammut the official uniform and apparel provider for more than 8,000 mountain professionals working at ten of POWDR’s mountain resort locations: Boreal Mountain Resort, CA; Copper Mountain, CO; Eldora, CO; Killington, VT; Lee Canyon, NV; Mt. Bachelor, OR; Pico Mountain, VT; SilverStar, BC; Snowbird, UT; and Soda Springs, CA. The partnership begins with the 2020-2021 season, continues through 2026, and also includes POWDR’s heli-skiing operation, Powderbird, located at Snowbird, UT.
“As one of the oldest and most respected global outdoor apparel and equipment brands in the world, we could not be more proud to outfit our staff with Mammut,” said Tim Brennwald, POWDR executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Mammut’s unparalleled quality, styling and innovation in a variety of apparel and equipment categories will empower POWDR employees to continue to deliver remarkable consumer experiences across our portfolio.”
Mammut is taking a unique and innovative approach to the partnership, redefining the process by which staff at each POWDR mountain resort is outfitted. POWDR mountain resort departments, including ski patrol, mountain guides, operations, ski/snowboard school, ambassadors and customer service, have customized select Mammut products to meet their needs. Tailoring pinnacle products, which were designed and tested by Mammut specifically for professional guiding purposes on Switzerland's famous Matterhorn mountain, means that POWDR employees will have uniforms that suit to meet the vastly different needs of each department. Building on Mammut’s best practices and product knowledge from the current Zermatt mountain guides and ski instructor uniforms, POWDR’s custom technical apparel systems will offer staff unparalleled quality and a superior experience.
Highly technical 3-layer Gore-Tex® Pro material will be used in uniforms for on-mountain employees, ensuring the highest level of protection and durability in critical environments, and operational departments will be outfitted in Mammut’s proprietary DryTech® 3-layer protection fabric for breathability, comfort, and protection.
Innovation and technology are the forefront of all Mammut products, to ensure the needs of mountain safety and resort staff are met to the fullest extent. The development of custom products for POWDR’s teams builds on Mammut’s 158-years of mountain gear experience, input and collaboration with POWDR employees, and influence from Mammut's Matters collection, which the POWDR uniform program is modeled after and will be available to purchase by consumers in the 2020/2021 season.
“In expanding the professional services division at Mammut, we tested a variety of technical apparel systems with Zermatters – Zermatt, Switzerland’s exclusive mountain guiding service on the Matterhorn, since 1888,” said Kris Kuster, general manager of Mammut North America. “In POWDR, we have found a partner who understands the value of this process, our 158-year Swiss heritage, as well as the profound impact Mammut products can have on the work lives of hundreds of mountain professionals. We look forward to showcasing the alignment between Mammut’s and POWDR’s vision, mission and goals with consumers and resort visitors through these advanced product innovations and systems.”
As part of the agreement, Mammut and POWDR will also collaborate on a variety of consumer marketing initiatives and events while POWDR ski patrol and mountain guides will utilize Mammut Barryvox beacons, probes, shovels, ropes, avalanche airbag systems, and other technical accessories.
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Professional development has the potential to help millions of hardworking teachers cultivate their instructional practice to improve student outcomes. Yet in many districts, this resource fails to produce positive changes in the classroom, despite substantial investments of money and time.
ExcelinEd’s new policy brief, Transforming Professional Learning: Actions for States to Help Teachers Continuously Improve Their Instructional Practices, can help.
Transforming Professional Learning examines what teachers need to succeed and offers five steps states can consider taking to help districts create a professional learning system that empowers teachers to develop their instructional practice and improve learning for students.
Teachers need support to learn new practices and grow professionally. However, the professional learning development teachers receive in many school districts is severely deficient. States can play an important role in this crucial issue, yet state policymakers may feel they have few tools to address a problem that seems inherently local in nature.
States that take the following five steps can help transform professional learning to benefit teachers and students:
There are thousands of instructional practices and materials touted by various groups, and many of them are not research-based. States can create a list of research-based instructional practices and materials and incentivize districts to use them.
After identifying the instructional practices that have the strongest research base, states can subsidize a system of micro-credentials to facilitate teacher mastery of these practices. Then states can replace continuing education requirements with a competency-based system that allows teachers to focus on developing research-based instructional practices to help them reach their professional learning goals.
States can also set clear expectations that every teacher receives intensive coaching and has significant time for collaboration. Since coaching and teacher collaboration could be expensive for districts, states can provide designated funding to help districts cover the costs.
In addition to providing dedicated funding for instructional coaching, states can support higher salaries for teacher leaders. States can also encourage districts to recognize competency-based learning as being equivalent to master’s degrees in their salary schedules. (This reduces the additional cost to districts of creating incentives for teacher leaders, instructional coaches and teachers who develop their practices.)
Given the many capacities districts need to develop and implement a coherent professional learning system, states can identify and negotiate statewide contracts with high-quality, capacity-building providers. This process can make these services cheaper for districts and faster to secure. Many states also have regional entities that support multi-district efforts. States can strengthen these entities and provide them with resources and a mandate to help districts in designing and implementing a professional learning system.
For more information—including examples of how states and districts are implementing quality professional learning systems—check out Transforming Professional Learning. And if your state is interested in transforming professional learning for teachers, contact MatthewJ@ExcelinEd.org to learn how ExcelinEd can help!
Onstage Ogden Presents
The Second Annual Ogden Bach Festival
February 24 thru 28, 2020
Ogden, Utah—Onstage Ogden is proud to present the second annual music festival celebrating the works of one of Western music’s greatest & most influential composers: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Throughout the week of February 24th, a series of Free concerts and educational events will be held throughout Ogden to commemorate this musical genius.
Presented in association with NEXT Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra Ogden, Nova Chamber Music & Weber State University Choral Department and with the help of our talented friends in the community, Ogden Bach Festival is a multi-event, “All Things Bach” Festival. Highlights include three amazing concerts that showcase the unique and beautiful spaces (and their exceptional organs) at Holy Family Catholic Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and the Ogden Tabernacle. A fourth concert, our new Bach at the Bar with The Inventures at Lighthouse Lounge will showcase Bach’s influence on modern music & instrumentation. All events are Free and Open to the Public.
Additional educational presentations, and activities taking place at Pleasant Valley Branch/Weber County Library and the Treehouse Museum, will fill out the week. The Festival Artistic Director is Gabriel Gordon.
Each of the four concerts will be unique with their own musical program. From the soaring strings of the Brandenburg Concertos, to the thundering organ of his iconic Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, familiar favorites will be performed alongside rarer works of symphonic, chamber & choral pieces. Works from Debussy, Vivaldi & Ysaÿe will help highlight Bach’s extraordinary influence on composers who came after him.
Schedule of Events
Monday, February 24 at 7pm: Concert #1 at Holy Family Catholic Church with Nova Chamber Music, Morgan Valley Chamber Orchestra & Myron Patterson
Tuesday, February 25 at 7pm: Concert #2 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church with NEXT Ensemble & Rulon Christensen
Wednesday, February 26 at 3:30pm: Bach for Kids at Treehouse Museum
Wednesday, February 26 at 7pm: Bach @ the Bar at Lighthouse Lounge with The Inventures, Ryan Conger, Myles Lawrence & Gabriel Gordon
Thursday, February 27 at 7pm: Bach Lecture & Mini-Concert with Dr. Mary Beth Willard at Pleasant Valley Branch Library
Friday, February 28 at 7pm: Concert #3 at Ogden Tabernacle with Chamber Orchestra Ogden & WSU Choir
All Concerts and Events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
For more information contact: Andrew Barrett Watson / andrew@onstageogden.org / 801.399.9214
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*For your convenience, here is a pre-written article that you may run in your publication free of charge. (Please feel free to use all the info or the portions that work for you.) If you are interested in a photo of the author, please let me know. If at all possible, we ask that you include the author's bio with the article.
Show your community some love this Valentine's Day.
By Quint Studer
Most of us love our community and want the best for it. It's our home. It's where we live, work, learn, play, and raise our families. And yet, it's easy to go about our daily lives without ever stopping to think, What can I do to make my community better?
I get it. We are all busy. And it's easy to assume that someone else will do what needs doing. But if there's one thing I've learned from my work with communities across the U.S., it's this: We are all owners. We don't need an official title. We don't have to be assigned a task. We don't have to be wealthy. We all have gifts to share and the ability to make a difference in the lives of others.
My dream is that, in honor of Valentine's Day, every citizen would do just one small thing to make their community better. We all know that random acts of kindness have positive ripple effects that reach far and wide, often unexpectedly so. Could you imagine the amazing results if everyone took part in a mass outpouring of love and positivity?
I'm not talking about big, complicated improvements. If you're a homeowner, you know something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can be a "quick fix" that makes a huge difference in how a room looks (and how you feel living in it). The same is true of a community.
You might start by taking a slow drive around your city. What do you see that needs to be repaired or replaced? Is there a field that needs to be mowed? Does a city park need some shade trees? Do flowers need to be planted? Is there an empty lot that needs trash hauled away, or a dangerous road in need of a crosswalk?
Next, consider what resources you have at your disposal. Maybe you, personally, have the skills or the funding to fix something that's broken. If not, you may know someone who does. If you need proper permission, try to get it. There are always potential reasons why something "can't" be done, but it's often amazing what can happen when we just ask.
Maybe your way of showing your community some love is to serve on the school board, to head up a "housing for the homeless" committee, or to spend a day at your local food pantry or animal shelter. Not only will this single action serve a great practical need (everyone is desperate for volunteers!), it may inspire you to get involved on a deeper level.
This is a great opportunity for a group to work together on a project, but you don't have to join an organized effort. Individual acts of love and kindness are meaningful, too. You can offer to clean up a cluttered yard or place a bench under a tree at the park. Once you start looking, you'll find lots of simple things you can do to make things better.
Also, think about how you might use your time and skill set to bring opportunity to others. Could you train entrepreneurs to better manage their finances or market themselves? Mentor someone inside your company? Tutor students who are struggling? Think broad and then narrow your scope: It's usually more impactful to pick one or two big things and go deep rather than try to tackle five big things.
Finally, we can all express our gratitude for what's right in our community. We can write a letter to the editor that celebrates the bright spots in our community. (Every community has them!) We can send a heartfelt thank-you note to the hospital that took care of our loved one. We can thank a maintenance worker for keeping the streets clean. Positivity and gratitude are contagious. They make a difference. And it feels good to practice them.
Making the decision to love our community is a powerful first step. It's a mind shift that truly changes the conversation around what's possible. I've seen it over and over: When a community decides "we are worth it" and takes control of their future, huge transformations can follow.
Happy Valentine's Day.
# # #
Quint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader's Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive. He is founder of Pensacola's Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community's quality of life, and Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. Quint speaks and works with communities across the country, helping them execute on their strategic plans, create a better quality of life, and attract and retain talent and investment. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida, Executive-in-Residence at George Washington University, and Lecturer at Cornell University. For more information, please visit www.thebusyleadershandbook.com, www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com, and www.studeri.org.
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Hey, everyone!
Christy Wright is here this week to help you create your ideal schedule. An image is attached.
Hope you can use it!
David N. Taylor Director of Print Syndication
1011 Reams Fleming Blvd. Franklin, TN 37064
(615) 614 4468
How to Create Your Ideal Schedule word count: 442
By Christy Wright
Ever feel like you have a completely packed calendar and yet don’t really accomplish much at all? The struggle is real!
But the struggle is also our fault. We say “yes” far too much. We’re so afraid of disappointing people that we spend all our time helping others accomplish their goals. As a result, we have no energy left for our own goals. Then, we wonder why we’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and unfulfilled.
This is the year to stop that madness! Get your priorities, and your calendar, under control with these three steps:
Prioritize
First things first: Get crystal clear about your priorities. This will help you make quick and confident decisions about what to commit to. I promise, this is easier than it sounds.
Start by making a list of everything that’s important to you in this season of life. Things like getting your website off the ground, helping your toddler adjust to preschool, getting into a regular date-night rhythm with your spouse, etc.
Then, put them in order of priority adding the most important thing to you right now at the top, and so on.
Create
Next, grab a blank calendar and dream up what your ideal schedule would look like. Using your list of priorities, fill in each day on your blank calendar in this order:
When you fill in a calendar in this order, every commitment has purpose and value—and moves you one step closer to your end goal, whatever that may be.
Implement
Once your ideal schedule is filled out, compare it side by side with what your current schedule looks like for the upcoming weeks. What needs to change about your current schedule to get closer to your ideal schedule?
Try making 30% of the changes every week over the next three weeks. In one month, you’ll be working and living off your ideal schedule. Imagine that!
Your calendar is sacred space. After all, time is the most valuable—and most limited—resource we have. It’s your right and responsibility to protect it.
If you’re looking for more help on how to take your dreams and turn them into goals for the season you’re in, this blog post will be a helpful resource to you. It will challenge, motivate, and inspire you to design a life you’re proud of!
About Christy Wright
Christy Wright is the #1 national bestselling author of Business Boutique, host of the Business Boutique podcast, a Certified Business Coach and a Ramsey Personality with a passion for equipping women with the knowledge and steps they need to successfully run and grow a business. Since joining Ramsey Solutions in 2009, she has spoken to thousands across the country at women’s conferences, national business conferences, Fortune 500 companies, and her own sold-out live events. You can follow Wright on Twitter and Instagram @ChristyBWright and online at christywright.com or facebook.com/OfficialChristyWright.
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FOR RELEASE: January 23, 2020
New data released by the Federal Trade Commission shows that consumers across Utah received $1,304,322 in refund checks from the FTC in 2019.
In addition to refunds, the newly released data also shows that Utah residents filed 21,930 complaints with the FTC last year. The most common category of complaints received from Utah consumers was Identity Theft, followed by Imposter Scams, Credit Reporting Issues, Telephone and Mobile Services, and Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries. Consumers in Utah reported losing $9,117,212 to scams and fraud.
Reports from around the country about consumer protection issues are a key resource for FTC investigations that stop illegal activities and, when possible, provide refunds to consumers.
A core part of the FTC’s mission is to return money to consumers who are harmed by illegal business practices. Over the last four years, consumers have cashed more than $1 billion in FTC refund checks.
The most common type of fraud reported to the FTC in 2019 nationwide was imposter scams; government imposter scams, in particular, were the most frequently reported, and up more than 50 percent since 2018. Of all reports received, the top categories were identity theft, imposter scams, telephone and mobile services, online shopping, and credit bureaus.
Refunds to Consumers
The FTC Act allows the FTC to seek refunds from companies whose actions harm consumers.
During 2019, more than 1.9 million consumers cashed FTC checks received as a result of law enforcement cases. When consumers don’t cash their refund checks, the FTC uses that money to send additional mailings to ensure the maximum amount of money is returned to consumers. Any remaining refund money is sent to the U.S. Treasury.
For the first time, data about the FTC’s refund program will be available online in an interactive dashboard, including state-by-state and case-by-case breakdowns of the amount refunded to consumers. The dashboard is available at ftc.gov/exploredata.
Consumer Sentinel Network
The FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network is a database that receives reports directly from consumers, as well as from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and a number of private partners. The network received 3.2 million reports in 2019, including nearly 1.7 million fraud reports as well as identity theft and other reports.
Consumers reported losing more than $1.9 billion to fraud in 2019, with nearly $667 million lost to imposter scams alone. While scammers target consumers using every possible method of communication, phone calls were the most common. A small percentage of consumers who reported they encountered a fraud over the phone said they actually lost money. When they did, the median individual loss was more than $1,000.
The FTC uses the reports it receives through the Sentinel network as the starting point for most of its law enforcement investigations, and the agency also shares these reports with more than 2,500 law enforcement users around the country. While the FTC does not respond to individual complaints, Sentinel reports are a vital part of the agency’s law enforcement mission.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
