Podcasts about fy2018

Two very different headlines have summed up the problems for Australia's ongoing housing shortage. One of the recent media headlines declared that building approvals were at a two-year high and that things were improving for the nation's housing shortage.  The other described why building approvals are almost irrelevant – it said that project deferrals are occurring at a record rate. The reality of the current crisis is this: it doesn't matter how many houses and apartments are approved for construction – and it doesn't matter how many re-zonings state governments push through or what incentives they hand out to first-home buyers. Most real estate developments are not proceeding because they're not financially viable. One of those media headlines read: Building approvals hit two-year high as apartment construction surges. This was incorrect - apartment construction is not surging – approvals are, but many projects are simply not being built because they're not viable in the current environment. It's so expensive to build that the end price for the dwellings would be far too high for most buyers – and therefore not financially feasible. In October, Australian dwelling approvals reached their highest level in 22 months - with nearly 15,000 new homes approved for construction during the month.  ABS data showed total dwelling approvals rose 4.2 per cent for the month, with approvals for apartments and townhouses jumping 25 per cent to over 5,800 units, the highest since May 2023 – but private house approvals fell 5.2 per cent. The AFR showed a startling lack of understanding of the problems in the industry when it declared in a headline: Worst has passed for new home building The article said: “The worst has passed for Australia's medium- and high-rise housing sector, economists said on Monday, after a jump in approvals of new apartments, townhouses and semi-detached homes.” KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said: “The bad times are starting to end … Even with interest rates being unchanged for the year, they still have that confidence that if they can get a project out of the ground they'll be able to sell it at a profit.” But that, we think, was rather naïve – and others were less optimistic. The Property Council of Australia pointed out that apartment approvals were still at half their level of the development boom under way in FY2018. And Oxford Economics Australia senior economist Maree Kilroy said: “While the latest approval result for apartments was positive, we continue to expect a materially higher dropout rate to commencement.” In other words, many approvals would not translate into construction. She referred to utility connection bottlenecks and trade labour shortages as problems in the sector. Matthew Kandelaars of the Property Council said: “We need to get back to the construction levels seen nearly 10 years ago. We are now six months into the National Housing Accord's ambitious target of delivering 1.2 million new homes and we cannot allow the target to slowly fade into the background over the next 4½ years.” According to a new report, money is still flowing into the construction industry but more and more of it is being dedicated to renovating. KPMG released analysis of spending in the residential construction sector, revealing that while spending on renovations has boomed over the past five years, new residential construction on a per-capita basis has hit a low not seen since 1988. Over the past five years, spending on new home building has dropped 14 per cent, adjusted for inflation. By comparison, the amount of funding flowing into renovations has increased by 6.5 per cent. KPMG said:  “For every nail hammered and brick laid in residential construction, 40 per cent of it is going into renovating a pre-existing home.” So the underlying problem remains. Regardless of how many dwellings are approved, far too few are proceeding to construction – so the fundamental shortage continues and there will continue to be upward pressure on prices and rents.

This week, we deep dive another stock in our 2021 model portfolio, CrowdStrike. It seems that hacking is constantly in the news with disturbing reports of spyware infiltrating our devices and ransomware attacks against government agencies, corporations, and public services. CrowdStrike aims to protect these systems from hackers with an advanced cybersecurity platform powered by artificial intelligence and modern security foundations. According to Gartner, the worldwide cybersecurity market is predicted to reach $150B this year. While this is a huge market, it is dwarfed by the estimated $6T of economic damage to be caused by cybercrime in 2021, and this figure is expected to grow 15% per year to reach $10.5T by 2025. CrowdStrike is a leading provider of endpoint security. Endpoints include personal computers, servers, mobiles, tablets and IoT devices, all potentially vulnerable to hackers attempting to access corporate and government systems. There were an estimated 31B connected devices in 2020 and this is expected to grow to 75B by 2025. CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 by former McAfee executives, George Kurtz and Dimitri Alperovitch. Its Falcon cybersecurity platform is cloud-native, designed and built for the cloud to provide modern endpoint protection and threat intelligence. This SaaS business model allows them to scale quickly and cost-effectively with near-limitless capacity. The power of CrowdStrike's platform comes from their 'Threat Graph' breach prevention engine. It collects data from the entire CrowdStrike customer base and uses artificial intelligence, behavioural analytics, and human experts to predict where the next major threat will appear. It has, in effect, crowdsourced threat detection and prevention with a powerful network effect where each additional customer makes the platform stronger for all customers. CrowdStrike's services are packaged into modules and customers can just pay for the modules they require to get started, adding others as their businesses grow and their requirements increase. This 'land and expand' growth strategy has resulted in a DBNER of over 120% for several years running. The number of customers using 4 or more modules has grown from 27% in FY2018 to 61% in FY2021. As of 30 Apr 2021, they have 11,420 subscription customers, a YoY increase of 83%. CrowdStrike have partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Google Cloud, and many players in the cybersecurity space. CrowdStrike is the recommended endpoint protection for AWS which has been instrumental in the adoption of CrowdStrike by small to midsize businesses. Cybersecurity is an inherently risky business, and breaches can damage a company's reputation and customer perception. As a sign of confidence in their platform and capabilities, CrowdStrike offers a warranty with their Falcon Complete subscription level to cover $1M of incident response expenses for breaches suffered by a customer under their watch. The company has been growing quickly for a number of years with a total revenue CAGR from FY2017 to FY2021 of 102%. Growth rates are slowing as the company gains market share but remains high, with a 70% YoY increase reported in the latest quarter. The gross margin has been improving quickly, rising from 57% in FY2018 to 77% in the latest quarter. With a market cap of $60B and a P/S ratio of just under 60, the company has a valuation to reflect its high rate of growth. The following companies are mentioned in this episode: CRWD, ZS, MSFT, AMZN, S ----- If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing at https://telescopeinvesting.com/subscribe/ Or you can contact the hosts: LukeTelescope AlbertTelescope

In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out, supporter Lonnie Murray wants you to know about a series of seminars on spring and fall landscaping with native plants. Plant Virginia Natives has held four of these already, but the next one is coming up on April 20 with Beth Mizell of Blue Ridge Prism on how to identify and eradicate invasive plants in Virginia. On today’s show: A review of Charlottesville City Council’s meeting from this past Monday, including a first reading of the budget and a discussion of performance metrics Council also adds the Starr Hill Vision Plan to the 2013 Comprehensive Plan as part of the appendix The eastern entrance to the Blue Ridge Tunnel will close for repairs to the parking lot beginning this Monday The University of Virginia will live-stream the dedication of the Memorial to Enslaved Workers Saturday morningThe bulk of today’s show deals with the Charlottesville City Council meeting from Monday, April 5. But before we get to that, here’s a few quicker stories. The unemployment rate in the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) dropped to 4.8 percent February, down from 5.1 percent in January. That’s according to data released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission. Statewide the rate in February was 5.4 percent, down from 5.7 percent in January. The unemployment rate in February 2020 was 2.1 percent in the Charlottesville MSA and 2.5 percent statewide.  Over in the Shenandoah Valley, the Staunton-Waynesboro MSA has an unemployment rate of 4.6 in February, down from 4.8 in 4.8 in January. In February 2020, those communities had an unemployment rate of 2.2 percent. Source: Virginia Employment CommissionTomorrow morning at 11 a.m., the University of Virginia will hold a ceremony to formally dedicate the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, which was completed last year but the pandemic prevented a public dedication. There are at least 4,000 people who built and maintained the University of Virginia from 1819 until Liberation Day in 1865. The event will be live-streamed. (UVA Today article)Tonight at 6 p.m., a group called the Descendants of Enslaved Communities at the University of Virginia will have its public launch on a virtual event that begins at 6 p.m. Speakers will be Dr. Andrea Douglass of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, Dr. Jody Allen of The Lemon Project at William and Mary, and Dr. Michael Blakey of the Montpelier Descendant Committee.  Registration is limited. (Descendant’s Day event)*The eastern parking lot of the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Nelson County will be closed for at least three weeks beginning Monday, April 12 so that it can be expanded. The director of the Nelson County Parks and Recreation department sent out an email stating that barriers will be placed on Afton Depot Lane and people will be stationed outside to direct people to the western trailhead which is in Waynesboro. Traffic congestion, over-parking, and litter have been issues on the eastern side since it opened last November. (more information) The view last November shortly after the tunnel opened for pedestrian passage (Credit: Victoria Dunham)The rest of this newsletter is dedicated to the Charlottesville City Council meeting from Monday, April 5. Let’s just go through it, more or less in order. As reported elsewhere, the Charlottesville School Board has entered into a $1.47 million contract with architectural firm VMDO to conduct design services for the reconfiguration of the city’s middle schools. VMDO has also been hired to put together growth and capacity scenarios for the entire school system. Source: December 19, 2018 Charlottesville School Board budget presentationThe capital budget before the City Council includes a placeholder of $50 million for the project, but more detailed analysis will yield a more accurate cost estimate. “The initial analysis of the existing buildings of the schools, the two buildings being Buford Middle School and Walker Upper Elementary School, have been completed including building envelope assessments, general building condition analysis, a building 3D digital modeling, and site survey,” Boyles said. A kick-off meeting will be held next week and community engagement will begin in early May. “An initial assessment of the findings are due back in June,” Boyles said. “While these will be preliminary and an initial assessment, it will begin to start giving feedback and data to the City Council and the Charlottesville School Board.” This week, several housing advocacy groups asked Council to help cover the legal costs of preventing evictions. The entire nation is currently under a moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control that has now been extended to June 30, and groups are concerned that tenants will face renewed pressures once it is lifted. Boyles said Council has provided direction at work sessions this spring to provide resources. (CDC order)“We have engaged discussions with the Legal Aid Justice Center,” Boyles said. “They have presented some ideas of how this could move forward. At this point our recommendation is to utilize the American Recovery Plan funds that the city should be receiving.” Boyles said one possibility is for a two-year agreement between the Legal Aid Justice Center and the city. A community outreach person would be funded as part of this arrangement. “I do believe that the right direction to go is with contracting with someone like Legal Aid Justice Center and they have begun to work up what the cost estimates would be as soon as the American Recovery Funds are available, we can present that to Council for approval,” Boyles said. Virginia is also continuing to offer a rent relief program related to the pandemic. Councilor Lloyd Snook noted that many in Albemarle County had asked Council to increase funding for eviction prevention and to push for policies to protect tenants’ rights. “I would hope that there would be also be conversations with Albemarle County just as they are having with the city of Charlottesville,” Snook said. “I’ve been interested to note that roughly half of the letters that we have received in the last few days imploring the city to do something have been from county residents. And I’ve asked some of them if they’ve sent a comparable letter to the Board of Supervisors.” Boyles said he has already reached out to Albemarle to begin the conversations of working together. I put the question to Emily Kilroy, the county’s Director of Communications and Public Engagement. She said Albemarle does not have a specific eviction prevention program, but does fund Legal Aid Justice Center and Piedmont Housing Alliance to provide direct services.“Over the course of the pandemic, the Emergency Financial Assistance Program that the County is sponsoring through United Way has provided funds for rent, including referrals from the General District Court related to eviction petitions,” Kilroy said in an email. “The Housing Choice Voucher program has been able to increase subsidy payments to owners on behalf of our participants who may have lost their income during COVID and have done so, on several occasions.Later in the meeting, Council held a public hearing on the budget for FY22 which so far does not include any funding from the American Recovery Plan because staff wants to have a full sense of restrictions that may come with the money. However, Boyles said one of the first uses will be to fill the revenue shortfalls from FY21. Staff have been working to close a multimillion dollar budget gap. “While revenue projections are improving for FY21, we still estimate a $9.2 revenue loss for fiscal year 21,” Boyles said. Final budget adoption is scheduled for April 13. After that, Boyles is hoping to relaunch the city’s strategic planning process in order to inform future budgets. The current strategic plan was adopted in June 2017 and no one is left on Council from that time. “My vision is that as soon as we get through with this budget process, then we begin a strategic planning process that will start to lead us toward the FY23 budget,” Boyles said. A strategic plan is not to be confused with the Comprehensive Plan, which is a document intended to direct the development of land and public infrastructure. The strategic plan is intended to create policy objectives which then direct the work of the city’s employees as well as what the city chooses to fund. Mayor Nikuyah Walker said one of her main objectives is to ensure city funding for non-profits is tied to performance. “One of the major points that came out of the task force or working group meeting I convened or whatever we called it was to figure out how to get citizens input directly and not just have nonprofits be able to say that X people of number participated and thereby just by participating they get the dollars that there are allocated,” Walker said.For many years, Albemarle and Charlottesville participated in something called the Agency Budget Review Team in which a sixteen member team evaluated requests jointly.However, Council opted to go its own way beginning with the development of the FY21 budget in favor of something the Vibrant Community Fund. In her comments above, Walker was referring to the Measurement and Solutions Group which had been intended to meet to “identify appropriate measurements, benchmarks, solutions and metrics for the designated priority areas for use in The Vibrant Community Funding process.” Those priority areas are “Jobs/Wages, Affordable Housing, Public Health Care, and Education.” However, that process has been delayed by the pandemic. Boyles said the process would be improved for the next fiscal year.“For FY23 we want to come up with a means to be able to identify some of our nonprofit and community stakeholders and partners that will become more of a line item within the budget so that even though it is an annual basis, it be a little bit more definitive for them to know they’re going to get a funding of a certain amount every year,” Boyles said. A work session on the process going into the next fiscal year will be held in May.You’re listening to Charlottesville Community Engagement. What do you know about rock music? Want to put it to the test? Join WTJU virtually on April 16 for their first-ever Trivia Night at 8 p.m. Join a team in the virtual pub and put your screens together to answer rounds of questions with themes that relate to rock, radio, and local lore. There will be merriment! There will be prizes! Trivia Night is just three days before the beginning of the rock marathon, a seven-day extravaganza to help fund the station. Visit wtju.net to learn more!The entire plan can be downloaded from the New Hill Development Corporation's website (download) Council next took up the adoption of the Starr Hill Vision Plan to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. In November 2018, Council used $500,000 from its Equity Fund to pay the nonprofit New Hill Development Corporation to create a small area plan. Alex Ikefuna is the deputy director of the Neighborhood Development Services department.“Planning Commission and staff worked together,” Ikefuna said. “Originally it was a small area plan that because of the contents and the efficiencies in the land use it was agreed with the consultant that it would be submitted to the Planning Commission and subsequently to the City Council as a vision plan,” Ikefuna said. Yolunda Harrell is with New Hill Development Corporation, which was formed following conversations that began in July 2017 with former Councilors Wes Bellamy and Kathy Galvin. “This plan intentionally centers the Black community, not to the exclusion of others, but rather to the intentional inclusion of us,” Harrell said. “This plan specifically looks at opportunities to increase the street-level presence of sustainable, well-capitalized, existing and start-up Black-owned businesses.” Harrell said part of the work going forward will involved providing gap money to finance entrepreneurial efforts. From the land use perspective, the idea is to create multiple types of housing so as to cover different affordability ranges. “Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, a voucher-holder, or someone looking for the next phase of housing along their financial growth path, in this plan we have demonstrated how those opportunities can and will exist,” Harrell said. Harrell said the plan would build off of the work the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center has done to curate local Black history. The Jefferson School received $450,000 from the city’s Strategic Initiatives fund in FY2018 and another $500,000 in FY2019. “This plan also speaks to the need for gathering spaces where folks can connect or just simply be,” Harrell said. “Where they can be empowered to congregate and co-create, build and own, and innovate and learn.” Harrell said the 10.4 acre City Yard property offers the best chance to create new housing. Currently the city’s public works department is located in the space. City Council agreed to fund a $300,000 environmental remediation plan in FY20. Ikefuna said that money has not yet been spent. “While City Yard represents a genuine opportunity for new affordable housing as part of a mixed-use development, Starr Hill’s existing residential neighborhood must be sustained and strengthened,” Harrell said. Harrell said the plan offers suggestions on what could happen immediately. “Which is, creating housing on Brown Street, thus shoring up and strengthening the integrity of the existing residential neighborhood,” Harrell said. “This can be done while we explore other opportunities in the larger plan.”Looking west on Brown Street, April 8, 2021 (Credit: Sean Tubbs)Brown Street runs east-west between Cream Street and 5th Street NW and most of the parcels on the northern side are vacant. The city’s property records indicate there are 14 landowners on the street. In addition to the City Yard, the City of Charlottesville owns a 0.13 acre vacant lot at 609 Brown Street. Harrell suggested these properties could be be subdivided to create between 10 and 46 new residential units, including homeownership opportunities to first-time home buyers.  As for the greater City Yard, Harrell said the vision could yield many more places to live.“If we just look for a moment at the proposed vision, our city could gain upwards of 250 additional housing units not to mention the additional office and retail space to support the presence of Main Street, Black-owned businesses which can significantly change the social fabric of our community,” Harrell said. Source: New Hill Development CorporationThe plan also calls for the identification of 50 parking spaces for First Baptist Church on West Main Street, which Harrell said will eventually lose 50 spaces when the Amtrak parking lot is eventually redeveloped. There are no plans for that now, but Harrell said the Starr Hill Vision Plan identified that need for the future. But the main idea is to reconnect the city after decades of fragmentation using new infrastructure.“There is an important opportunity to restore and strengthen the connections between Starr Hill to a broader network of neighborhoods from Westhaven, 10th and Page, and Rose Hill to the Downtown Mall,” Harrell said. Councilor Lloyd Snook said he was interested to come up with a future for the City Yard, but had some concerns about adding this specific vision to the Comprehensive Plan.“A Comprehensive Plan, it seems to me, needs to be more than just here’s a possibility,” Snook said. “It has to be ‘we’ve made a decision that this is the possibility not just a possibility.’”Snook said the visioning work was a start, but the city is in the middle of a Comprehensive Plan process through the Cville Plans Together initiative. “I’m not sure we’re there yet,” Snook said. “I think you’ve given us a great start for a lot of discussions that we need to be having.”Harrell said they have met with the Cville Plans Together consultants, Rhodeside & Harwell, and have updated them on the plan.“They are just waiting for this plan to be adopted so that they can then roll it up into consideration of the overall plan,” Harrell said. “We did make suggestions on what zoning should happen and what ways the land could be used.”  Ikefuna said the Starr Hill Vision Plan did not have enough land use analysis and the level of detail required for a small area plan. “However, it has several contents such as housing, economic development, and placemaking part of which is the connectivity concept which Yolunda alluded to in her presentationFor City Yard to be developed, City Council would need to approve a plan to move Public Works elsewhere and there is no estimate for how much that would cost the city. But redevelopment would begin with remediation.“I don’t think you can reuse that site without remediation,” Ikefuna said. “Maybe the areas around Brown Street could be carved out and developed. It has a good potential for development for housing. But in terms of redevelopment of City Yard, there has to be remediation.” Harrell said the vision plan addresses remediation. The plan suggests the city consider enrolling in the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Voluntary Remediation Program which can lead to grants to pay for clean-up efforts. The plan also lists previous efforts to document contamination at the site and noted that remediation may have a preliminary cost estimate of $3.4 million. Harrell said that the plan has taken previous studies into consideration and designates commercial uses in areas that might need remediation. Council voted unanimously to approve a motion to add the Starr Hill Vision Plan to the appendix of 2013 Comprehensive Plan, the same way that the Cherry Avenue Small Area Plan and the Hydraulic Area Plan were added. (see all approved city plans)That’s still not all from the Council meeting. I’ve clipped out audio for potential future segments on the 4-1 vote for an amendment of the special use permit for new apartments on Harris Street, action on changes to City Council rules related to expenditures of funds, and a presentation on the latest version of the Orange Dot Report from Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Division of Community Self-Sufficiency Programs. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode we talk to Erin Book Mullen about being a DC Lobbyist who works to increase funding for Down syndrome research. Erin led the effort with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation to secure the first-ever Congressional hearing on Down syndrome research where Frank Stephens declared that his life was worth living.  That testimony, along with their work with Congressional Champions, resulted in a historic and significant 65% increase of Down syndrome research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from $35 million in FY2017 to $58 million in FY2018. In addition, we talk with Erin about raising two girls, one of whom has Down syndrome and has battled with childhood Leukemia. Check out the show notes by visiting https://hopestory.org/erin-book-mullen/ep-4

Renewal House provides specialized addiction treatment to women and their children. We are the only long-term residential addiction treatment program in Middle Tennessee that treats women and their children together. On any given day, there are 60 women on the waiting list needing our help. The current opioid crisis has sharply increased the demand for services. Renewal House is the only residential addiction treatment program for pregnant women and mothers and their children in Middle Tennessee.Programs Include:FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM: A structured family-centered residential program where women and their children going through treatment and recovery live in independent apartments on the Renewal House campus.INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM: A licensed treatment program providing nine hours per week of group therapy focused on the root causes of a woman's addiction.PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM: A specialized program serving women who are legally or DCS involved and pregnant or with a child under the age of one.RECOVER TOGETHER: A partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center providing assessments, individual and group counseling in an outpatient setting for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders.AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Available to women and their children as a part of the Renewal House recovery community.Renewal House clients benefit from many services, including: INDIVIDUAL THERAPY | GROUP THERAPY | PARENTING SKILLS | RELAPSE PREVENTION | SPIRITUALITY | VOCATIONAL SUPPORT | TRANSPORTATIONRenewal House treats the mother and her children offering a unique solution for vulnerable families.Providing a safe and nurturing environment for mothers who are working towards recovery with their children.Providing evidence-based programs to children to support their healthy development – physically, socially and academically.The NumbersRenewal House served 468 women and children in FY2018-19, an increase of more than 12% over the 416 served in FY2017-18.The waiting list for Renewal House's family residential treatment program also has increased, from 60 to 70 currently waiting.While the national average for overdose deaths is down by more than 4% for 2018, the overdose death rate in Tennessee increased nearly 5% for the year. (The Tennessean, July 19, 2019)Learn more:  https://www.renewalhouse.org/

Good morning, RVA! It’s 37 °F, and that’s about the temperature for today. Expect a bit of clouds until tomorrow when we’ll, with any luck, fully see the sun again. Temperatures will stay in the 40s and 50s until Monday when thing start to warm up a bit (again).Water coolerThis week’s email from Richmond Public Schools’ Superintendent is short, sweet, and right up my alley. He gives folks two ways to concretely get involved in the civic process as it relates to schools funding: 1) Call the legislators who will put the final touches on Virginia’s budget proposal(s) to ask them for more money for RPS, and 2) Show up at the General Assembly building on Sunday at 12:00 PM to immediately respond to the proposed House and Senate budgets (Facebook). For the latter, fingers crossed, the response will be “Hey, thanks for fully funding your share of public education, Commonwealth.” But, should that not be the case, you can be on hand to cast scornful looks upon the legislators.Mark Robinson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a summary of a recent report released by the City Auditor that focuses on overtime pay at the Sheriff’s Office. You can read the full, 14-page audit here (PDF). The short of it: Overtime pay went, way, way up—from $643,985 in FY2018 to $2,786,220 in FY2019—and it does sound like some of the operational procedures at the jail could benefit from some tweaking. That said, pay at Richmond’s Sheriff’s Office still lags behind neighboring facilities, and, something I’m always interested in knowing, the Office has about a 15% vacancy rate. Until the Mayor and City Council find a way to fully fund vacant position at City departments (by, oh, I dunno, raising the real estate tax to pre-Recession era levels), we’ll always need folks to work overtime and we’ll always see huge overtime line items. At some point, surely, you save some money by filling a couple of those vacancies, right?The Virginia Mercury’s Ned Oliver has an update on the General Assembly’s attempt to give control of Confederate Monuments to localities. Sen. Surovell, a Democrat from Fairfax, has this unfortunate quote that shows a lack of knowledge about when (the Jim Crow era, decades after the Civil War) and why (Lost Cause racism) the majority of Confederate monuments were built: “Before we make decisions about them, everybody’s entitled to have complete information…Otherwise, I think a lot of people just jump to conclusions, make assumptions that everybody just put these statues up because they were racist or something.” Turns out, that’s exactly why these statues were put up! Anyway, I’d still like to see the two-thirds majority vote requirement removed from the final version of the bill, but, if it must, I guess the other stuff can stay—although, requiring studies into the history of these monuments is just a huge waste of everyone’s time and money.This coming Saturday, February 15th, from 10:00–11:00 AM, Maymont will host its annual Great Backyard Bird Count. It’s free and designed for all ages and skill levels. One assumes they mean all bird-counting skill levels, which, is good because my current skill level at that hovers near zero. In fact, until this very moment, I had no idea that the Great Backyard Bird Count is a national program put on by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audobon Society. Sounds like if you can’t make it out to Maymont on Saturday morning but still want to spend some time hangin’ with the birds, you can tap on the previous link and participate from literally wherever you happen to be. So cool!Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense says a mystery buyer has bought the building at 504 W. Broad Street, one of Richmond’s definitely cursed properties. Currently questionably occupied by Tiny Victory (Platania says the shop’s been closed and couldn’t get ahold of the owners), previous tenants include Yaki, Boka Tavern, Antler & Fin, the Belvidere at Broad, and, probably, a eldritch butcher who sold suspiciously delicious meat pies. Super excited for whatever moves into that space next, though.Logistical note: Monday, Presidents’ Day or Washington’s Birthday if you aren’t feeling colloquial, is a federal holiday, which means you won’t hear from me until Tuesday. If your work/life situation allows it, enjoy the long weekend!This morning’s patron longreadThe Last Time Democracy Almost DiedSubmitted by Patron Giles. I guess it’s comforting that we’ve been here before and manage to scrape through. Read to the end of this piece, though, because I kind of love the idea of public (both in terms of who can come and who funds it) debate salons.It’s a paradox of democracy that the best way to defend it is to attack it, to ask more of it, by way of criticism, protest, and dissent. American democracy in the nineteen-thirties had plenty of critics, left and right, from Mexican-Americans who objected to a brutal regime of forced deportations to businessmen who believed the New Deal to be unconstitutional. W. E. B. Du Bois predicted that, unless the United States met its obligations to the dignity and equality of all its citizens and ended its enthrallment to corporations, American democracy would fail: “If it is going to use this power to force the world into color prejudice and race antagonism; if it is going to use it to manufacture millionaires, increase the rule of wealth, and break down democratic government everywhere; if it is going increasingly to stand for reaction, fascism, white supremacy and imperialism; if it is going to promote war and not peace; then America will go the way of the Roman Empire.”If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

SingSaver has recently secured a brokerage licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to offer more than 100 insurance policies from 12 providers such as AXA, Allianz and FWD, to name a few. As Singapore’s insurance market is set to hit 4 billion dollars next year, according to FY2018 data published by the General Insurance Association of Singapore, how will this license allow SingSaver to tap on this growing market? We find out more with Rohith Murthy, Founder and Country Manager at SingSaver.

Please join CSIS Americas and the CSIS Project for Prosperity and Development for a public event on the critical nature of U.S. foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle and the security, socio-economic, and migratory consequences of recent changes in U.S. policy toward the region.  On Friday, March 29, President Trump stated that his administration was cutting off federal funding to the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. A day later, the State Department announced that the cutoff not only affected future grants, but also ended spending in the Northern Triangle countries on programs funded with FY2017 and FY2018 appropriations, as well as funds recently approved in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY2019. In total, more than an estimated $1 billion could be affected. This policy change would not only impact political stability and economic opportunities in those countries, and therefore the push factors affecting migration, but will also likely have additional consequences unexpected by the Administration, which will reverberate throughout the entire region.   During this public event, we will be joined by a panel of experts from the Northern Triangle and U.S. government, business, and civil society communities to discuss what those potential consequences will be. Mark Schneider, Former USAID Deputy Administrator and CSIS Senior Adviser, will moderate the panel.   Additional congressional speakers to be confirmed shortly. This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.

  Tony Nash is the Founder of Booktopia. He started the online bookstore as an evening side project with a $10 a day budget in 2004, the company has continued to grow at a rapid rate ever since. Booktopia employs 160 people and sells one item every 6.9 seconds. In Christmas 2018 they were shipping 30,000 individual items per day. Revenue for FY2018 is $115 million. In 2016 & 2017 they were voted Australian Book Retailer of the Year. During this chat, we covered: some of the strategies he has used to grow Booktopia automation and how they manage their stock the methods they use to determine which books they list and sell on the website why they haven’t attempted to run other products through their distribution facility and network a little on deliveries and the future in that space, and why Booktopia is currently raising capital through the crowdfunding platform Equitise.    To find out more about Tony and his current work, head to https://booktopia.com.au/. You can also find Tony on LinkedIn. If you enjoy Trench Talk, please remember to hit the subscribe button inside your chosen podcast player, more episodes can be found at xrm.com.au/podcast Enjoy Trench Talk Episode #046, with Tony Nash…   ---- Show notes and links for this episode can be found at xrm.com.au/podcast. Feel free to email me with any suggestions or feedback to podcast@xrm.com.au. You can find Matt Reynolds on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on LinkedIn.

The 2019 Index of U.S. Military Strength is The Heritage Foundation’s fifth annual assessment of the United States Armed Forces’ ability to provide for the common defense. The Index assesses the strength of each of the U.S. military services, the status of the threats we face, and the favorability of the environment in which the U.S. and its allies must be prepared to operate. Since the initial publication of the Index five years ago, the military has struggled in its capacity and readiness for operations—brought about by harmful budget caps, underinvestment in research and development, and decades of sustained engagement in the Middle East. Although the FY2018 and FY2019 defense budgets reflect positive growth for defense, military strength remains far below where it needs to be.Join us for the debut of the 2019 Index of U.S. Military Strength as well as a special discussion from noted national security experts who will discuss where we stand, and what we need to protect our national interests in a world where U.S. military superiority is not assured. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The June Treasury report puts the FY2018 deficit on pace for over $800 bn, and it only gets worse from here on. Help support the Silver Fortune Channel through my sponsor, SD Bullion - 10 oz. Silver Bar at Spot! https://sdbullion.com/sf Support Silver Fortune through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/silverfortune Any content within this video or any other video by the Silver Fortune channel is merely one man's opinion, commentary, and analysis, or actual information obtained from elsewhere, and should not be constituted as legal, investment, or financial advice. Make your own financial decisions, or consult a professional if you'd prefer to go that route. The Silver Fortune channel disclaims any liability for legal, financial, or investment decisions made. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/silver-fortune/support

Jouni ja Sakke korkkaavat kesäloman kelailemalla, kuinka kului kultaisen korporaation päättynyt fiskaali. Miten kehittyi Azuren markkinapositio? Miltä vaikutti Microsoftin ote etiikkaan? Onko Microsoft 365:llä tulevaisuutta? Oliko GDPR sittenkin hyvä asia? Paljon matskua, vähän punaista lankaa. Kepeästi kesäisiin korviin!

In this week's episode of Podcast from Washington, Government Affairs team members Ian Goldstein and Eli Briggs discuss the Omnibus funding for FY2018. They also discuss a hearing in the House Energy & Commerce Committee concerning the opioid epidemic, where NACCHO member and Health Director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department Dr. Michael Kilkenny testified about how his health department has dealt with the opioid epidemic. Later in the program, Ian sat down with NACCHO Lead Research Scientist and Director of Research Nick Williams to discuss the Forces of Change Survey, a yearly survey containing new findings on the forces that are affecting the nation's local health departments (LHDs). Carol Moehrle from the Idaho North Central District joined the conversation by phone to talk about her health department's experience with the Forces of Change survey and why it is vital that local health departments participate in the survey.

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Novim Group, in partnership with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, invites you to a briefing discussing a new report on the environmental and societal impacts of the Administration's proposed climate and environmental research program cuts for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Congress must act on funding the remainder of FY 2018 by March 23. Given that the Administration's FY 2019 proposed climate and environmental cuts are quite similar to those in the FY2018 budget, the briefing will also highlight the similarities and differences between these two budgets. The briefing's speakers, who helped author the Novim report, will give an overview of its findings and conclusions.

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Novim Group, in partnership with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, invites you to a briefing discussing a new report on the environmental and societal impacts of the Administration’s proposed climate and environmental research program cuts for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Congress must act on funding the remainder of FY 2018 by March 23. Given that the Administration’s FY 2019 proposed climate and environmental cuts are quite similar to those in the FY2018 budget, the briefing will also highlight the similarities and differences between these two budgets. The briefing's speakers, who helped author the Novim report, will give an overview of its findings and conclusions.

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Novim Group, in partnership with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, invites you to a briefing discussing a new report on the environmental and societal impacts of the Administration’s proposed climate and environmental research program cuts for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Congress must act on funding the remainder of FY 2018 by March 23. Given that the Administration’s FY 2019 proposed climate and environmental cuts are quite similar to those in the FY2018 budget, the briefing will also highlight the similarities and differences between these two budgets. The briefing's speakers, who helped author the Novim report, will give an overview of its findings and conclusions.

Salesforce released their Q4 and Full Year earnings on February 28th. They eclipsed the $10B annual run rate milestone. Their success is tied to the strategic relationships they are forming with customers focused on digital transformation. They now have more customers with larger and longer term contracts that include multiple cloud solutions. Salesforce has their sights set on becoming a $20B company and they will be relying on their customer base to get them there.

In this week's episode of Podcast from Washington, Eli Briggs and Ian Goldstein are back after a brief hiatus to discuss the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Found out how much funding Congress will appropriate to public health programs in the FY2018 and FY2019 appropriations budget.  Next, Eli and Ian discuss the President's FY2019 budget proposal that Congress has said is "dead on arrival." Find out what's in the budget proposal along with the proposed cuts to the CDC and HHS.  Finally, Eli and Ian talk about NACCHO's Week of Congressional Action where you can find out how to get involved in public health advocacy without leaving your local health department!

12-12-2017 - President Trump Signs H.R. 2810, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 - audio English

Adam Mansfield discusses Salesforce's Q3 FY2018 financials and their key takeaways.

Adam Mansfield, Director of Services at UpperEdge reports on Microsoft's Q1 FY2018 earnings and what the key takeaways are for Microsoft clients.

Mayor Treece discusses the city council meeting of Sept. 18, 2017. This is the meeting when the council will pass the budget for FY2018.

The calendar year has nearly four months to go, but the federal fiscal only has three more weeks. Either way you look at it, Congress probably has more work to do than it can expect to actually get done. Loren Duggan, Editorial Director for Bloomberg Government told Federal Drive with Tom Temin what's expected at lawmakers return to work from a summer recess.

Opening FY2018

Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without. This special edition is hosted by partner David Robbins and discusses news from the week of July 17, including SASC and House amendments to the NDAA for FY2018 and OMB's FY2019 budget guidance.

Mayor Treece discusses the Columbia, Missouri, city council meeting scheduled later in the day on July 3, 1017. Topics include the projects on the Capital Improvements list for FY2018. Airport, sewer, roads.

:58 Massachusetts Take action to oppose two bills that would make access to smoke-free tobacco and nicotine products needlessly more expensive. S 1576 S 1497 These bills are scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 1:00 PM Joint Revenue Committee Hearing Room A-2 Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133 Please attend this hearing if you are able to. If you can't then please take action now to oppose these bills by sending a message to committee members urging them to vote no on S 1576 and amend S 1497 to remove section 3! CASAA’s Call to action http://casaa.org/call-to-action/ma-take-action-to-stop-new-taxes-on-vaping-and-a-tax-hike-on-smokeless-tobacco/ Full text of bills https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S1576 3:30 Delaware http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article156503354.html Governor Carney’s FY2018 budget plan has a proposal to include vapor products in other tobacco (OTP) taxes. This proposal also includes a 100% tax hike on OTP, raising the tax to 30% of wholesale. Delaware’s budget needs to be finished by the end of June, so negotiations are starting NOW! Take action today! http://casaa.org/call-to-action/de-stop-governor-carney-from-taxing-vapor-products 4:10 California Flavor Bans Much of what has started this is an urge to ban menthol. Anti tobacco activists want to ban it as it seems to be unfairly targeted to vulnerable communities and although it arises out of an urge to protect people it also unfairly targets all tobacco products including low risk products that many people use to reduce or stop their smoking entirely. http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=44&clip_id=28096#.WULE3BYvKkc.facebook A more ethical way of handling this flavor ban is to share truthful and accurate information with current vulnerable populations which allows them to make a better informed choice. 11:24 The ordinance was passed out of committee so it goes onto a debate in the full council. The recording of the full hearing is available here http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php... CASAA Testimony from Jennifer Berger Coleman at 02:41:44 13:37 This week was the global forum on nicotine. It was a great resource for THR advocates and vapers to follow. GFN Hashtag on twitter here: https://twitter.com/hashtag/GFN17?src=hash NNA Alliance have some periscopes of the events here: https://gfn.net.co/2017/programme-details The presentations are now available online to download and peruse at your leisure here:https://gfn.net.co/2017/programme-details 17:17 Kansas HB 2230 Passed the legislature collecting only one no vote. This bill changes the tax rate to 5 cents per millilitre tax. It’s effectively a reduction in the tax rate. http://casaa.org/call-to-action/kansas-take-action-to-change-the-tax-on-vapor-products/ 19:00 National Youth Tobacco survey results: http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/tobacco/drop-e-cig-use-drives-decline-youth-tobacco-use 22:13 This may be unrelated but it seems as though it may be related to these results being released. Other groups are sending letters to FDA’s Scott Gottlieb to ask for a reduction or reform of the FDA’s regulation of nicotine containing products. https://www.clivebates.com/documents/FDAReformJune2017.pdf 27:56 Delay the FDA comment on the citizen’s Petition today. .http://casaa.org/call-to-action/delay-the-fda-comment-on-the-citizen-petition-today 29:25 A listing of where to get CASAA updates 1 here casaa.org/podcast/ 2 here @casaa-media 3 here itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/casaa…dia/id1190244806

Stephen Sackur is at the 2017 Hay Literary Festival to speak to the US Senator Bernie Sanders - the longest serving independent in US congressional history. He was credited with injecting passion and belief into the race for 2016's Democratic presidential nomination - a race that was eventually won by Hillary Clinton. But did he plant the seeds of a political revolution in the United States?(Photo: Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) react during a news conference on release of the president"s FY2018 budget proposal, 2017. Yuri Gripas /Reuters)

Stephen Sackur is at the 2017 Hay Literary Festival to speak to the US Senator Bernie Sanders - the longest serving independent in US congressional history. He was credited with injecting passion and belief into the race for 2016’s Democratic presidential nomination - a race that was eventually won by Hillary Clinton. But did he plant the seeds of a political revolution in the United States? (Photo: Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) react during a news conference on release of the president"s FY2018 budget proposal, 2017. Yuri Gripas /Reuters)

The Trump Administration released its proposed FY2018 budget just days ago. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan and Mat Kaplan dive deep into what this controversial plan means for NASA and how it has been received by Congress.

The Trump Administration released its proposed FY2018 budget just days ago. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan and Mat Kaplan dive deep into what this controversial plan means for NASA and how it has been received by Congress.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump Administration released its proposed FY2018 budget just days ago. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan and Mat Kaplan dive deep into what this controversial plan means for NASA and how it has been received by Congress.

05-25-2017 - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget - part - 01 audio English

05-25-2017 - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget - part - 02 - audio English

Net neutrality on a space podcast? Sure, why not? This week, Jack and Newton really dive into the policy side to discuss net neutrality in the context of space broadband, NASA's cuts in the president's FY2018 budget, and the need to revamp the Outer Space Treaty. They also talk about an emergency on ISS, folding robots, and the winner of our David Grinspoon book giveaway!   Links: Latest from Washington Cruz announces hearing on updating the Outer Space Treaty Outer Space Treaty text Robert Zubrin is a Lunartic...for Mars   Space News Highlight of the Week White House releases FY2018 Budget Request 2018 Budget Proposal to Spread Cuts Across NASA Programs   International News Hurriedly planned ‘contingency’ spacewalk on tap Tuesday Rocket Lab gets ready to launch from New Zealand   Latest in Tech NASA Tests Origami-Inspired Robot That May One Day Explore Mars Softbank-backed OneWeb increases offer for Intelsat Leads into Net Neutrality Discussion -- Paid Prioritization and Its Impact on Net Neutrality How to leave a comment to the FCC about Net Neutrality Comcast Is Fighting an Embarrassing Net Neutrality War on Twitter   Coming Soon to Space Star Trek on CBS All-Access (You payin’ fa dis?)   Follow Ad Astra on Twitter at @AdAstra_Podcast, on Facebook, and subscribe to the mailing list for future updates and events!  

The City Council holds a work session to discuss the proposed budget and capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2018. Visit icgov.org/budget.

The City Council holds a work session to discuss the proposed budget for fiscal year 2018. This portion is only the overview presented by City Manager Geoff Fruin and Finance Director Dennis Bockenstedt. Visit icgov.org/budget.

www.adamispharmaceuticals.com “Strong Buy” 12-month Price Target of $15 - $18 indicates a potential price gain of 224% to 269%* 22-page research report by Harbinger Research details Investment Opportunity, Valuation Comparables... includes Profit and Loss Models thru FY2022. Brian Connell, CFA Investment Highlights: Net $23.7 million in recent funding and NASDAQ up-listing constitutes “Major Corporate Milestones” – institutional and retail visibility greatly enhanced. First product (Epinephrine Pre-filled Syringe) ready for FDA 505(B)(2) filing soon - early ’15 approval likely, leading to $30 - $50 million in annual sales over next 2 – 3 years. Completed purchase of the 3M Taper Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) technology in December 2013 – creating potential branded generic competitor for Glaxo-SmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and its $7.7 billion global market.  Two additional products will likely receive FDA approval in 2016 and 2017 - eventual annual revenues of $30 million or more expected for each. Revenues starting in FY2015, with rapid growth in FY2016, FY2017 and FY2018 - estimated at $16.75MM, $49.45MM and $93.12MM, respectively – all subject to FDA approvals and market conditions of course, but Adamis has certainly turned the corner as a “Developing Specialty Pharmaceuticals Co.” Four early stage biotech products focused on the treatment of prostate cancer - given that the Company’s current priority is “to get to market” with its specialty pharma products, the biotech segment could create a win-fall for investors through a spin-out, IPO, sale to a larger biotech firm, or through royalties/marketing partnerships. It’s like a free-call option for informed investors. Company Overview: Adamis is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology products in the therapeutic areas of respiratory disease, allergy, oncology and immunology. ADMP is developing low cost therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of anaphylaxis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and allergic rhinitis. Within the Company's biotechnology pipeline is a novel cell-based therapeutic cancer vaccine and three drug candidates for the treatment of prostate cancer. *Based on market close, March 19, 2014

www.adamispharmaceuticals.com “Strong Buy” 12-month Price Target of $15 - $18 indicates a potential price gain of 224% to 269%* 22-page research report by Harbinger Research details Investment Opportunity, Valuation Comparables... includes Profit and Loss Models thru FY2022. Brian Connell, CFA Investment Highlights: Net $23.7 million in recent funding and NASDAQ up-listing constitutes “Major Corporate Milestones” – institutional and retail visibility greatly enhanced. First product (Epinephrine Pre-filled Syringe) ready for FDA 505(B)(2) filing soon - early ’15 approval likely, leading to $30 - $50 million in annual sales over next 2 – 3 years. Completed purchase of the 3M Taper Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) technology in December 2013 – creating potential branded generic competitor for Glaxo-SmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and its $7.7 billion global market.  Two additional products will likely receive FDA approval in 2016 and 2017 - eventual annual revenues of $30 million or more expected for each. Revenues starting in FY2015, with rapid growth in FY2016, FY2017 and FY2018 - estimated at $16.75MM, $49.45MM and $93.12MM, respectively – all subject to FDA approvals and market conditions of course, but Adamis has certainly turned the corner as a “Developing Specialty Pharmaceuticals Co.” Four early stage biotech products focused on the treatment of prostate cancer - given that the Company’s current priority is “to get to market” with its specialty pharma products, the biotech segment could create a win-fall for investors through a spin-out, IPO, sale to a larger biotech firm, or through royalties/marketing partnerships. It’s like a free-call option for informed investors. Company Overview: Adamis is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology products in the therapeutic areas of respiratory disease, allergy, oncology and immunology. ADMP is developing low cost therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of anaphylaxis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and allergic rhinitis. Within the Company's biotechnology pipeline is a novel cell-based therapeutic cancer vaccine and three drug candidates for the treatment of prostate cancer. *Based on market close, March 19, 2014