Targeted News Service

NEW YORK, April 3 -- The Paley Center for Media issued the following news release:

The Paley Center for Media, the entertainment industry's leading nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the cultural, creative, and social significance of media and its impact on society, today announced the addition of prominent leaders in the fields of entertainment, gaming, and technology to its prestigious Board of Trustees and Los Angeles Board of Governors.

Joining the Paley Board of Trustees will be Eddy Cue, Senior VP Internet Software & Services, Apple, Alex Rodriguez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ... Show Full Article

Public Knowledge Enhances Event, Administration Support to Expand Outreach

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- Public Knowledge issued the following news release:

Public Knowledge is pleased to announce two additions and one change to our team. First, Public Knowledge welcomes Michele Ambadiang, Events and Development Manager, and Courtney Lee, Director of Finance and Administration, as new additions to our administration and event teams. They will support the organization's advocacy efforts across the full breadth of issues Public Knowledge leads on.

Prior to joining Public Knowledge, Ms. Ambadiang was a Project Manager for Inter-Progress, a Swiss foundation based in Cameroon, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, April 3 -- Public Knowledge issued the following news release: Public Knowledge is pleased to announce two additions and one change to our team. First, Public Knowledge welcomes Michele Ambadiang, Events and Development Manager, and Courtney Lee, Director of Finance and Administration, as new additions to our administration and event teams. They will support the organization's advocacy efforts across the full breadth of issues Public Knowledge leads on. Prior to joining Public Knowledge, Ms. Ambadiang was a Project Manager for Inter-Progress, a Swiss foundation based in Cameroon,where she worked on a variety of projects aimed at boosting entrepreneurship and giving small and mid-size enterprises a platform to expand their business. She has a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship from Depaul University in Chicago. She also has a B.A. in Modern Languages from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK.

Ms. Lee served as the Operations Director at The Sunlight Foundation, where she worked on grant management, accounting, human resources, and corporate compliance. She received her B.S. in Business Administration from The University of Maryland Global Campus. She is currently pursuing her MBA from The University of Maryland Global Campus and expects to complete the program by Spring 2021.

Additionally, Public Knowledge is pleased to announce the promotion of Meredith Whipple to Digital Outreach Director. Since 2013, Ms. Whipple has focused on enhancing the organization's digital presence by engaging new online communities through social media and launching digital advocacy campaigns. As the Digital Outreach Director, she will assume a greater leadership role in the development of Public Knowledge's growing online audience.

The following may be attributed to Public Knowledge President & CEO Chris Lewis:

"We are excited to add Courtney Lee and Michele Ambadiang to our team and the experience that they bring to our organization. Courtney has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector to go with her growing academic credentials. I am confident that her experience will be even more important during this period of social distancing as we ensure our staff are supported and able to continue working on behalf of the public interest. Michele's record of event and project management will translate well into this restructured role to support our outreach and administrative work. I look forward to her ideas to continue reaching new audiences and building our signature annual event, the IP3 Awards.

"We are equally proud of the work that Meredith Whipple has done over the years to build Public Knowledge's online capabilities and look forward to her continued creativity and leadership as our Digital Outreach Director. In this role, she will work with Michele to combine digital tools with events to communicate with new audiences and to connect more people to key policy discussions."

You may view our staff page for more information on all new hires.

[Category: Media]

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: Americans Favor Designating Dispensaries as 'Essential Services'

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws issued the following news release:

Americans mostly agree with states' decisions to classify licensed medical cannabis facilities as "essential services" to the community - a designation that permits them to maintain uninterrupted retail operations during regional 'stay-at-home' orders.

Nationwide polling data compiled by YouGov.com reported that 53 percent of respondents believe that medical marijuana dispensaries "should be considered essential services." Support was strongest among self-identified Democrats (62 ... Show Full Article

Hemophilia Federation: APLUS Statement on FDA Policy Changes Related to Blood and Plasma Donation

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The Hemophilia Federation of America issued the following news:

The FDA released several new guidance documents with permanent and temporary (during the COVID-19 emergency) changes to several policies related to blood and plasma donation.

HFA has signed on to a statement with coalition partners from the American Plasma Users Coalition reiterating APLUS's longstanding position that complex blood safety policies such as those related to donor deferral should be based on science, and supporting policies that can increase the potential pool of donors as long as the overall ... Show Full Article

Food & Water Watch: Coronavirus Exposes Our Food System's Crisis

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The Food and Water Watch issued the following news

release:

While ordinary Americans are struggling to adapt in order to protect themselves and their families from coronavirus, corporate food and agriculture giants are scheming about how to deepen their hold on the food system and avoid important food safety regulations under the guise of responding to the pandemic.

Big Ag is using the coronavirus pandemic to line their pockets

Early on, we predicted that big food and agricultural giants would use the coronavirus pandemic to further consolidate the industry, to profit ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The Food and Water Watch issued the following news release: While ordinary Americans are struggling to adapt in order to protect themselves and their families from coronavirus, corporate food and agriculture giants are scheming about how to deepen their hold on the food system and avoid important food safety regulations under the guise of responding to the pandemic. Big Ag is using the coronavirus pandemic to line their pockets Early on, we predicted that big food and agricultural giants would use the coronavirus pandemic to further consolidate the industry, to profitfrom panic, and to further weaken food safety standards. And that's exactly what is happening. On March 30th in response to COVID-19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reversed a policy that helped preserve the thoroughness of some merger review processes.

At a time when the pandemic has exposed such significant vulnerabilities in our food system, retracting this common sense policy and once again allowing faster review of mergers would only harm consumers who may see fewer, but more expensive, options at the grocery store. This would also drive down the prices farmers receive and slash wages for food workers. So who benefits? Big Food and Big Ag.

All sectors of our food system are already controlled by a few powerful players. For example, the top four beef-packing firms slaughter 80% of feedlot beef cattle. Extreme consolidation allows these meatpackers to have an astonishing level of control over the food we eat. It is outrageous that the very agencies that are supposed to protect us from such market distortion are now relaxing their safeguards.

Meanwhile, Congress is also largely ignoring small and independent producers in the federal responses to coronavirus. Recent stimulus bills include funds for agriculture--but provides U.S Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue (a disciple of Big Ag's "get big or get out" mantra) broad authority for how those funds are spent. We hope those funds go to farmer's markets, regional agriculture hubs and independent farms struggling to survive. However, we predict they'll go to Smithfield, Perdue, and Tyson instead. This is not right.

Mega-mergers and deregulations will make our food unsafe

Big Ag, with its poor food safety track record, endangers our health and safety even more during the coronavirus pandemic. The unsanitary conditions of factory farms and slaughterhouses, their gutting of safeguards and their dangerous business practices make us sicker. It's well-documented that COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease, transferred to humans from animals living in crowded, unsanitary conditions--like so many other historic pandemics that have significantly endangered human health.

However, Big Food and Ag are also using the crisis as an opportunity to further weaken food safety standards. Just in the last two weeks, a massive Foster Farms poultry slaughterhouse applied for and received a "regulatory waiver" that would allow it to increase line speed and decrease its number of federal inspectors. USDA also recently granted a regulatory waiver to a beef slaughter plant in Kansas to "self-regulate" and take over inspection functions normally performed by trained government inspectors. The fox is now officially guarding the henhouse.

Elected officials need to protect us during pandemics instead of Big Ag's profits

We will emerge on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic--but with a food system that is even more consolidated and deregulated, unless our elected officials block it. We need our leaders to overhaul the fundamental structure of our food system so that small, independent farms can thrive and so that our food supply is reliable and safe.

This crisis must serve as a turning point in restructuring our food system. For instance, in the face of this pandemic, local and regional farmers and markets are providing fresh, local food staples that large grocery chains are struggling to supply. It's time to transition to a regionally-based food system with stronger food safety standards. Federal legislation introduced by Senator Cory Booker, the Farm System Reform Act of 2019, lays out a path to do just that by creating a system that works for consumers and farmers--not for corporations.

Throughout this crisis and beyond, we will continue to mobilize support for this common-sense federal legislation that would have made our food system less vulnerable during this pandemic, and that will make us safer during future disasters. We will fight against megamergers, advocate for local and regionally-based food systems, and demand stronger food safety standards. This pandemic has made it clear that our work to protect our food supply has never been more critical.

[Category: Science]

Council on American-Islamic Relations Condemns Racist Harassment of Asian-American Doctor in Indiana

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued the following news release:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the alleged racist harassment of a Kentucky-born physician of Korean descent who said he was kicked out of a gas station in Martinsville, Ind., apparently because of his race and fears over COVID-19.

The doctor said an employee at the station yelled at him and prevented him from coming inside. A gas station employee reportedly told police that the business would not allow ... Show Full Article

ACLU of Texas: Civil Rights Organizations Join Lawsuit to Ensure All Texans Can Vote-by-Mail During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AUSTIN, Texas, April 3 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued the following news release on April 2:

The ACLU of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday joined a case seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The lawsuit states that in order to prevent wide-scale disenfranchisement during this public health crisis, the court should declare that the Texas Election Code's definition of "disability" in the vote-by-mail provision - one ... Show Full Article AUSTIN, Texas, April 3 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued the following news release on April 2: The ACLU of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday joined a case seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The lawsuit states that in order to prevent wide-scale disenfranchisement during this public health crisis, the court should declare that the Texas Election Code's definition of "disability" in the vote-by-mail provision - oneof the basis of eligibility to vote-by-mail in Texas - currently encompasses all registered voters. The suit further states that the court should order that all mail-in ballots received by eligible voters under this category due to the pandemic be accepted and tabulated.

Because of the current COVID-19 public health crisis and the need to be confined at home, all individuals cannot physically appear at a polling place on Election Day without a risk to their health. Texas has 3,997 confirmed cases as of today. The latest guidance from the Trump administration advises against gatherings of more than 10 people, and many Texas counties have ordered restaurants and bars closed.

"Public safety must be prioritized during the coronavirus pandemic," said Edgar Saldivar, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas. "If we don't address how COVID-19 will affect our access to the ballot, people will find themselves balancing their civic duty to vote and their need to stay healthy. Clarifying that all Texans may vote-by-mail during this crisis under current state law is unquestionably the most effective and immediate way to ensure we protect both public safety and voting rights. Our state leaders must act fast so we can educate the public about how they can safely exercise their right to vote."

The civil rights organizations are asking for the court's declaration that the vote-by-mail provision applies to all Texans in light of the pandemic to allow for public education and planning to process an increase of mail ballots.

"Texans should not be asked to choose between their physical well-being and their fundamental right to vote, when we already have an election code that can accommodate a public health emergency," said Joaquin Gonzalez, lead attorney on the case in the Voting Rights Program at Texas Civil Rights Project. "The secretary of state has been shockingly silent when our clients have been seeking her leadership and guidance the most. I know we're in isolation, but you can send an email."

"States all across the country are making vote by mail available because they know it is a common-sense solution to protect democracy and people's well-being during this public health crisis," said Sophia Lin Lakin, deputy director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, citing states such as West Virginia, Indiana, Delaware, and Virginia, among others. "In failing to issue guidance making clear that all Texans are eligible to vote by mail due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Texas is forcing a false choice between protecting public health and allowing Texans to exercise their right to vote. Vote-by-mail for all eligible voters allows for both. Texas can and should make this common-sense solution explicit."

The plaintiffs in this filing include the League of Women Voters of Texas, MOVE Texas, League of Women Voters of Austin Area, Workers Defense Action Fund, and University of Texas student Zach Price.

[Category: Political]

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