Tina Quigley, general manager of the Regional TransportationCommission of Southern Nevada (RTC) will recognize local students who
won the agency’s annual Anti-Graffiti Art Contest at two special
awards ceremonies on Tuesday, Dec. 17, and Thursday, Dec. 19.
Elementary and middle school students from across the Las Vegas Valley
submitted artwork that they created to promote the contest’s theme,
“Keep Southern Nevada Graffiti Free.” The students were encouraged to
design their artwork to specifically promote and support the message
of respecting each other’s property and not devalue or deface it with
graffiti.
The artwork of the top two winners was selected by a community online
vote and will be featured on the outside of an RTC transit vehicle for
up to one year.
The Grand Prize winner, Lyle Anthony Abapo, was already honored at a
ceremony at Cashman Middle School, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road, on
Tuesday, Dec. 17; the other winner, unknown at this time, will be
honored at a ceremony at Roy Martin Middle School, 200 N. 28th St.,
Las Vegas, on Thursday, December 19.
More than 50 students are expected to attend the unveiling of the
transit vehicle wrapped in the artwork. Martin Middle School has been
a top 10 finalist every year since the contest began.
* * * * *
Deadline of Jan. 10 Nears for University Faculty Interested in
Conducting Scientific Research at a National Lab in Summer 2014 to
Apply
University and college faculty interested in gaining a unique
scientific experience by working collaboratively with researchers at a
DOE host laboratory have until Jan. 10, 2014, to apply for the
Visiting Faculty Program, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office
of Science announced. Selected faculty and participating students
spend 10 weeks during the summer at a DOE laboratory engaged in a
research project under the guidance of a laboratory scientist.
The Visiting Faculty Program seeks to increase the research
competitiveness of faculty members and their students at institutions
historically underrepresented in the research community in order to
expand the workforce vital to the addressing the Department’s and
Nation’s complex challenges in energy, national security, the
environment, and discovery science. DOE’s Office of Science sponsors
and manages the program.
As part of the program, selected university and college faculty
members collaborate with DOE laboratory research staff on a research
project of mutual interest. Faculty members need to submit as part of
their application a research project proposal co-developed with the
collaborating research staff located at the host DOE laboratory.
Proposal guidance and requirements can be found at
http://science.energy.gov/
To be considered, an applicant must meet all eligibility criteria and
have submitted an application comprising all required materials.
Applications will be subject to a merit review and selection process.
From the highly ranked applications, research advisors at the host
laboratories select those applicants whose skills, knowledge, and
research interests are best aligned with their ongoing research
programs.
Faculty member participants may invite up to two students to
participate in the research project. Faculty members selected for the
program receive a stipend of up to $13,000 and students a stipend of
up to $5,000 for the 10-week program.
Applications will be accepted online until 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 10,
2014. For more information about the program and a link to an online
application, please visit http://science.energy.gov/
Questions about the program may be addressed to
sc.vfp@science.doe.gov.
The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic
research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working
to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more
information, please visit http://science.energy.gov.
* * * * *
Middle school students from across Las Vegas perform during Fifth
Annual Holiday Recital
After-School All-Stars (ASAS) Las Vegas students from nine Clark
County middle schools performed at the House of Blues for the
non-profit organization’s fifth annual Holiday Recital on Tuesday,
December 17 at 4:00 p.m. A long-time partner with ASAS, the
International House of Blues Foundation, donates the venue and all
technical production so that students from various ASAS programs may
take the stage to show off the skills they’ve honed throughout the
year. The audience was treated to a variety of acts including rock and
cover bands, hip hop dance, mariachi, drumline, percussion and even
improv. Approximately 18 ASAS groups performed during the program with
a special “guest” appearance from the Basic High School Band.
* * * * *
Community Ambulance to play Santa Claus for “Volunteers in Medicine ofSouthern Nevada”
Community Ambulance, a locally owned and operated ambulance company
that provides emergency and non-emergency transports, is donating
lifesaving equipment to Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, a
group that helps identify, understand and serve the healthcare and
wellness needs of Southern Nevada’s uninsured, working families.
Donations will include an Automated External Defibrillator (AED),
Oxygen Tanks, and Epinephrine Auto Injectors (EpiPens) and teaching
and certifying the entire staff in CPR and use of the AED.
Dr. Florence Jameson, founder of Volunteers in Medicine, expresses her
gratitude, “We have a common goal — Community Ambulance and VMSN — in
providing medical care and saving lives. People in Nevada are dying
because of a lack of healthcare and medication. Community Ambulance’s
gift is a blessing for us.”
Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada is located at 4770 Harrison
Drive, Las Vegas.
* * * * *
Nevada Farmers: We’d Be Thankful with a New Farm Bill
Nevada’s agricultural community would probably be a lot more thankful
this holiday season if Congress would pass a new Farm Bill. Zach
Allen, communications director, Nevada Farm Bureau Federation, said
farmers throughout the state are feeling a great sense of uncertainty.
He said no Farm Bill means crop insurance and other government
programs are in jeopardy, causing economic doubts for farmers – and
for banks that lend them money. The Farm Bill delay is also delaying
insurance payments for crops lost to this year’s drought, he said.
“You had the Farm Bill down and then also, with the shutdown of
government, it’s put everything behind in terms of getting stuff
settled, insurance-wise,” he explained.
A major cause of congressional delay on this issue is the ongoing
battle over cutting billions of dollars from the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as Food Stamps. The
Senate has approved $4 billion in SNAP cuts, while the House approved
trimming $40 billion from the program. The two sides have been trying
to work out a compromise number.
Agriculture contributes more than $5 billion a year to Nevada’s
economy, Allen said. It is the state’s third biggest moneymaker,
behind gaming and mining. The Farm Bill delay is hurting the Silver
State and much of the nation’s economy, he warned.
“The Farm Bill supports the nation’s farmers, ranchers, forestry, food
security and rural communities,” he said, “and it has a huge impact
toward the farmers and also the supply chain that is involved with
agriculture.”
Alfalfa, beef and dairy make up the biggest sectors of Nevada’s farm
economy, Allen said.
* * * * *
Reporters Committee pleased by New York court’s decision to protect
Fox News reporter’s sources
Freedom of the press triumphed today as the New York Court of Appeals,
the state’s highest court, ruled that Fox News reporter Jana Winter
should not be compelled to reveal the sources for her reporting about
the notebook of accused Aurora, Colo., theater shooter James Holmes,
according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
“This decision is wonderful news for Jana and for reporters across the
U.S.,” said Reporters Committee Executive Director Bruce D. Brown.
“And it could not come at better time. With the Department of Justice
reforming its media subpoena guidelines, New York Times reporter Jim
Risen continuing his fight to protect his sources, and Congress
considering a federal shield law, the New York high court has reminded
us all that there is no part of freedom of the press as important to
the flow of information to the public as defense of reporter-source
confidentiality.”
The Reporters Committee, joined by 38 news organizations, filed a
friend-of-the-court brief in support of Winter, as well as earlier
affidavits in both New York and Colorado. The New York court had been
asked to overturn a subpoena issued in Colorado that sought the
sources of Winters’ story about a notebook Holmes had reportedly sent
to his psychiatrist shortly before the mass shooting in which 12
people were killed. Winters lost the first round in the New York
courts but that decision was overturned here on appeal.
* * * * *
City Beat is a compilation of news and views of our editorial and
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