ASPR continues to find new ways to share with the public how genetic testing guides clinicians in helping patients get better, faster when facing a mental health issue. Recently, ASPR connected a Minneapolis psychiatrist with the local CBS affiliate for a live interview. During the segment, the doctor was able to explain how the Genecept Assay(TM) from Genomind is in being used as an effective tool in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder.
By finding important stories, identifying the right outlet and preparing spokespeople for interviews, ASPR is uncovering the story.
The water crisis in Flint, Mich., is receiving needed media attention. ASPR has been proud to help advocates share the call for a victims compensation fund, such as the one that was was created after 9-11. Below is the story that was secured in Washington Monthly; additional coverage has been seen on Huffington Post, NBC stations and Reuters.
Last week, Michigan senators stopped a comprehensive energy bill from moving through Congress, demanding the addition of millions of dollars to help Flint residents repair their water supply and to study the effects of lead on Flint’s children. The senators’ demands, however, fell short of direct aid to Flint residents – which some experts now say is also a must if the victims are ever going to recover fully from the crisis.
A coalition of 200 economic and civil rights experts recently sent a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, asking for the creation of a “Health and Compensation Fund” for those affected by the crisis. The group proposes that the fund be modeled after the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which eventually paid out more than $7 billion to the survivors of the September 11 terror attacks.
As proposed, the Flint Victims Fund would cover residents’ claims for direct damages caused by lead-tainted water, as well as health screenings and treatment, research on the health and socioeconomic consequences of the crisis and outreach to potentially eligible residents. The experts, all of whom are members of the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative’s Experts of Color Network, include coalition organizer Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, president and CEO of the Center for Global Policy Solutions as well as the presidents of the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Association, the National Congress of American Indians and a variety of prominent scholars and researchers.
The experts say that even after Flint’s infrastructure is repaired – if it’s repaired – it won’t be enough to compensate Flint residents for the long-lasting damage brought on by the lead-contaminated water flowing through their homes. In addition to the immediate health consequences of the water crisis, the group’s letter argues that the long-term side effects of lead poisoning, such as “lower IQ, poor academic performance and aggressive or violent behavior,” will limit the earning potential of those exposed, with lasting effects on their financial security.
Along with the creation of the victims fund, the coalition is asking Gov. Snyder to grant tax and other relief to Flint homeowners, whose homes are now virtually unsellable as a result of the water crisis.
“[Homeowners’] ability to accumulate wealth through their property has basically been stolen by ill-informed decisions,” said coalition organizer Rockeymoore. “And so everything from the pipes in the homes to the value of the homes, in terms of home equity, has basically been stripped.”
The loss of home values is especially devastating for Flint, which was only now beginning to recover from the impacts of the housing crisis. Records from the Genessee County tax assessor’s office show that the total value of residential real estate in Flint rose by nearly 7 percent from 2014 to 2015 after years of steady declines in the aftermath of the recession.
The experts say that Flint residents, at a minimum, should be allowed to write off existing debt and tax liability on their affected properties. However, the long-term damage to Flint homeowners’ wealth may never be fully repaired. According to areport by the Center for Global Policy Solutions, housing wealth accounts for 92 percent of African-Americans’ personal net worth. In Flint, Michigan, where 56 percent of the population is African-American, the loss of so much home equity means that much of the entire wealth of the city has disappeared.
“That means we cannot ignore the role homeownership plays in building economic security for families,” Rockeymoore said. “That’ll have repercussions for the rest of their lives.”
While Rockeymoore said the coalition did not have a specific figure in mind for the size of the proposed victims fund or the cost of homeowner relief, she said the fund would need to be “sizeable.”
Other than an acknowledgement of receipt from Snyder’s office, Rockeymoore said the group has not yet received a formal response to its letter.
But she also says she doesn’t doubt that if the Flint water crisis had happened in a part of the country with a different demographic makeup, the administration’s response would have been different.
“We know that Flint is a predominantly lower-income black and brown city, and so one might conclude that the treatment that they were getting was because they are not upper-income or white,” Rockeymoore said. “We’re not going to accuse the government of Michigan of racism; however, it does seem as if there is some kind of bias that has influenced their ability to make the right decisions.”
ASPR is proud of its long history of media outreach in support of the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine. One of NLM’s goals is to share health information with the public through NLM MedlinePlus the magazine, a publication often found in doctors’ waiting rooms. We found the right connection to discuss Crohn’s disease with a cover story featuring Disney star Benjamin King from the show “Liv and Maddie.” The next step was finding the right news outlet that could share the story with a larger audience. The result was a health story on KABC-TV in Los Angeles; the newscast attracts nearly half-a-million viewers in the second largest TV market in the United States. http://bit.ly/1QfiasR
D.C.’S GOLDEN TRIANGLE AT TINY JEWEL BOX RIBBON CUTTING
WASHINGTON, D.C. — City leaders will gather Friday morning to not only cut the ribbon for a longtime Washington institution that has expanded, but they will also shine a spotlight on the retail strength of the surrounding neighborhood.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, Chairman of the Council of District of Columbia Phil Mendelson and Council Member Jack Evans will join customers, friends and employees of Tiny Jewel Box to cut the ribbon on its expanded location on Connecticut Avenue.
The event will also serve as an opportunity to explain how in one year the two blocks surrounding the store have become the core of retail growth in this Golden Triangle neighborhood (www.goldentriangledc.com), featuring everything from established retailers to innovative restaurant concepts.
Near Tiny Jewel Box on Connecticut Avenue, CorePower Yoga and Cava Grill are finalizing construction and plan to open soon. Francesca’s and The Little Beet opened within the last two months, while H&M, &pizza, and PURE Aveda all opened within the last year.
Brooks Brothers completely remodeled their store last year, Gap recently renewed their lease, and T-Mobile moved within the BID, all showing continued investment in the neighborhood.
WHAT:
Ribbon cutting for Tiny Jewel Box and celebration of strength of retail in the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
WHO:
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Chairman of the Council of District of Columbia Phil Mendelson
Council Member Jack Evans
Golden Triangle Executive Director Leona Agouridis
Tiny Jewel Box CEO Jim Rosenheim
Tiny Jewel Box President Matthew Rosenheim
WHERE:
In front of Tiny Jewel Box at 1155 Connecticut Ave., NW
WHEN:
Fri., Dec. 4
10:00–10:30 a.m. followed by refreshments and tours
When a governor makes the right decision and an influential columnist weighs in, ASPR’s client receives the benefits.
Baker right to tack left on LGBT rules By Joan Vennochi GLOBE COLUMNIST Good for Governor Charlie Baker for opening up state contracts to businesses owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people. Under a diversity program launched during the Patrick administration, a percentage of state contracts is already set aside for businesses owned by minorities, women, and service-disabled veterans. Under an executive order just signed by Baker, the program will expand to include businesses owned by all veterans and people with disabilities — as well as those owned by the LGBT community. “Why wouldn’t we want to make it easier for all people to do business in Massachusetts?” asked Baker, calling it “the right thing to do.” In Massachusetts, the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, it’s also smart and safe politics. For one, Baker gets to show he’s come a long way from 2010, when he referred to then-running mate Richard Tisei as “a gay fella.” When Baker made that remark about Tisei, he was deflecting criticism over his own refusal to support legislation often pejoratively referred to as “the bathroom bill.” It’s an issue that remains controversial today — whether to allow transgender people to choose the bathroom in which they feel most comfortable. Baker is ducking on that, even as Attorney General Maura Healey and other top lawmakers push a bill that would give transgender people the right to be accommodated in public places. Houston voters just defeated such a measure. “The governor has said he will review the bill should it reach his desk,” said spokesman Tim Buckley. “He doesn’t want anyone discriminated against on the basis of gender identity.” Baker’s executive order, meanwhile, drew praise from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which announced it as a first-in-the-nation statewide initiative to provide “fair and equal access to business-contracting opportunities.” The group, which started lobbying the Baker administration last January, views the policy as an important step in moving the national discussion from marriage equality to economic parity. “Marriage is the starting point, not the finish line,” said Justin G. Nelson, the NGLCC president and cofounder, who stood alongside other activists in the State House when Baker unveiled the new rules. The NGLCC, he said, plans to promote Massachusetts’ policy as a model for other states: “New York, here we come!” The group also hopes to get the Obama administration to implement a similar order for federal procurement contracts. Discriminatory barriers have been falling since the Supreme Court’s decision last June to legalize same-sex marriage across the country. In July, the secretary of defense announced that transgender members of the military will be able to serve openly. That same month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that current federal workplace discrimination protections also apply to sexual orientation. But a backlash is also developing on the economic front, with politicians in states like Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, and Louisiana pushing “religious freedom” proposals that would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT people. Baker’s executive order sends a countermessage of inclusion: that Massachusetts is open for business for all. That it comes from a Republican governor is noteworthy from a national political perspective. But in Massachusetts, there’s nothing strange about it. As a candidate, Baker supported same-sex marriage. He also featured his brother, who is gay, in a campaign Web video. When the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, Baker broke again with much of the national GOP and praised the decision. The issue is “personal” to him, he said at the time. Asked how his executive order might be viewed by fellow Republicans beyond Massachusetts, Baker told me, “I agree with people in my party on some things and disagree with them on others. This should not be a partisan issue.” Of course, when you’re governor, nothing happens in a political vacuum. Healey, the first openly gay candidate elected attorney general, is often mentioned as a potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate. She said she isn’t running for that office, but it doesn’t hurt Baker to have friends in the LGBT community. Nelson acknowledged the politics at play for a Republican governor in a liberal-leaning state. Still, he said, “If at the end of the day we have more opportunities, I really don’t care what got us there. I hope there’s a cascading effect with other states and with the federal government.” Before anyone gets too excited about Baker’s order, it does not yet set a benchmark for LGBT-owned businesses. First, they must be certified. Then, once the state determines how many businesses qualify, goals will be set. That will take two to three years, a Baker aide said. So, for the time being, the executive order merely creates an avenue for future opportunity to bid on the $4 billion the state spends each year on goods and services — just around the time Baker should be running for reelection.
