Freedom Of Information Bill To Emerge From 4-Year Limbo

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Another promise of a Freedom of Information Bill was made in the House of Assembly this week. While the promise is an old one the bearer is newly appointed Territorial Governor His Excellency, Governor John Duncan.

The highly anticipated Freedom of Information legislation is constantly being referred to as the much-needed Bill for information related issues of the Territory and it came as no surprise that the promise of such a Bill made yet another appearance in the 2014 Speech from The Throne delivered on November 10.

The promise of such a bill was first made in 2011, repeated in 2012, mentioned in 2013, and promised again in 2014.

In Mondays Speech Governor Duncan announced: Government will seek to introduce the Freedom of Information Bill to provide the public with the right of access to information in the possession of the public authorities, thus making available to the public information about the operations of public authorities and, in particular, ensuring that the authorizations, policies, rules and practices affecting members of the public in their dealings with public authorities are readily available to persons affected by those authorizations, policies, rules and practices.

In his Speech that was delivered on 7 October 2013, previous Governor Boyd McCleary announced that Government still intended to pilot such a bill.

Bill Drafted

It was announced in January 2012 that a Freedom of Information Act had already been drafted and was awaiting attention from legislators to become law. Information about the legislation was disclosed by renowned Attorney Gerard St.C Farara Q.C who was presenting under the topic The 2007 Constitution and Good Governance in the Virgin Islands during the 24th annual Frederick Pickering memorial lecture on 17 January.

Queens Counsel Farara announced that the Law Reform Commission drafted and submitted a Freedom of Information legislation to government, in response to the fact that the Territory does not have any such law. He stated that the drafted legislation was submitted to Government for their consideration and tabling before the House of Assembly.

Mr. Farara explained that a Freedom of Information Act was much needed, as it is key to enabling members of the public to have access to and become more informed about matters relating to decision-making in Government.

Such legislation has certain financial and other implications for the Territory when fully implemented. Accordingly, as elsewhere, it may have to be brought into effect piecemeal over a period of time. That having been said, the importance of such legislation to transparency, accountability and generally keeping the public informed about government activities, cannot be ignored. As we have seen, this is most critical to the free flow of information and hence good governance, Mr. Farara stated.

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Freedom Of Information Bill To Emerge From 4-Year Limbo

Political Diversity Pioneers Win Medal Of Freedom

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Several of this year's recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the national government gives to civilians, are people of color. They include recording star Stevie Wonder and the late Alvin Ailey, legendary choreographer and founder of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

Still, many of the honorees made their presence felt on the political stage, challenging America's presumptions about people of color.

Suzan Shown Harjo testifies on Capitol Hill before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on "Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People" in 2011. Harry Hamburg/AP hide caption

Suzan Shown Harjo testifies on Capitol Hill before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on "Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People" in 2011.

Suzan Shown Harjo, who is Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, has long been an advocate for Native American rights.

Before she petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the federal trademark registrations for the Washington Redskins, she had already successfully stopped other sports teams from using names and mascots demeaning to Native American cultures.

She worked with Native American activist groups to get the University of Oklahoma to retire its mascot "Little Red" in 1970. Soon after, and with pressure from Harjo and these groups, Dartmouth University retired the "Indian" as its unofficial mascot. In the mid-1990s, Harjo persuaded the Kentucky Department of Education and schools to change all the school names and mascots that were Native American stereotypes.

In the 1960s, Harjo co-produced Seeing Red, the United States' first Native American news program, at New York radio station WBAI. There, she met her husband, Frank Harjo, with whom she reported on New York's vibrant Native American community. Her involvement in the local art scene is what initially sparked her interest in work advocating for the repatriation of sacred Native cultural objects held by museums. In 1974, Harjo began working as a legislative liaison representing Native American rights in addition to serving as the news director of the American Indian Press Association.

Under President Jimmy Carter, Harjo served as a congressional liaison for Indian affairs and supported Native American positions in the formation of federal policy. In this role, she worked toward the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, which was intended to protect the traditional religious and cultural practices of Native Americans, Alaskans and Hawaiians.

She helped found the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and served as a founding trustee in the 1990s. Harjo was also the guest curator and general editor for a 2014 exhibition and book at the museum about treaties between the United States and Native American nations. Currently, Harjo serves as the president of the Morning Star Institute, a national Native American advocacy organization.

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Political Diversity Pioneers Win Medal Of Freedom

Understanding Our Eugenics Death Cult Society: Why You Should Watch the Film Zardoz – Video

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Understanding Our Eugenics Death Cult Society: Why You Should Watch the Film Zardoz
The 1974 cult classic Zardoz is recognized more for the ridiculous outfit Sean Connery wears in the leading role than the underlying message about not just where society will one day go, but...

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Understanding Our Eugenics Death Cult Society: Why You Should Watch the Film Zardoz - Video

The Ultimate Agenda- Cyborgs Today! Transhumanism? Mark of the Beast ( Documentary) – Video

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The Ultimate Agenda- Cyborgs Today! Transhumanism? Mark of the Beast ( Documentary)
The word cyborg first appeared in 1960, in the article Cyborgs and Space by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. Clynes and Kline describe a cyborg as an organism deliberately modified...

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The Ultimate Agenda- Cyborgs Today! Transhumanism? Mark of the Beast ( Documentary) - Video

LEGO BATMAN 3 – Walkthrough Part 7 Cyborg saves Watch Tower! BOOYAH – Video

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LEGO BATMAN 3 - Walkthrough Part 7 Cyborg saves Watch Tower! BOOYAH
LEGO BATMAN 3: Beyond Gotham Walkthrough Space Station Infestation. Welcome to Part 7 of our Lego Batman 3 guide. This video features co-op commentary with the Kwings! LEGO BATMAN 3 Part ...

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Huge underwater hole planned to get beach sand

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A hole the size of eight football fields would be gouged from the ocean floor off Fort Lauderdale under a plan to help save the eroding beaches of southern Broward County.

The Army Corps of Engineers said Broward County has applied for a permit to construct what's called a sand bypass, a huge cavity in the ocean floor at the north side of the Port Everglades inlet. Its purpose would be to accumulate sand to fatten the shorelines of John U. Lloyd Beach State Park and the cities to south.

The south Broward beaches have been losing sand since 1928, when President Calvin Coolidge came to town and pressed a button to detonate explosives that would destroy the final barrier between the ocean and the lake that would become Port Everglades. The button malfunctioned, but the barrier was quickly taken down anyway. Since then, the Port Everglades inlet has blocked the natural flow of sand to the south caused by wind and waves.

Beaches that lose sand to the south gain it back from the north. But since the port inlet cut off the supply, the beaches of Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach have been eroding, saved only by costly projects to replenish them with sand from elsewhere.

Under the $20 million bypass plan, sand that would normally just accumulate north of the inlet would end up in the hole. Every three years or so, the sand would be scooped up, taken south and spread on the beach at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. From there it would naturally flow south to replenish the other beaches.

"It's a great way to have a local dedicated sand source for beaches in the area," said Nicole Sharp, Broward County's beach erosion administrator.

But she said it will not eliminate the need to bring in sand from other places.

"It's a supplement," she said. "We don't want people to get the wrong impression."

Throughout South Florida, beaches have been going through various stages of replenishment. The county currently is awaiting a federal permit to begin work on a plan to widen more than five miles of eroded beach from northern Fort Lauderdale to southern Pompano Beach.

Cities south of the inlet strongly support the sand bypass. Hollywood, which has already seen much of the sand from a major renourishment project wash away, would see a more stable beach and less need to spend money obtaining sand.

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Huge underwater hole planned to get beach sand

Contract OKd for Cape May county beach restoration

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By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press

Federal officials have awarded a $57 million contract to widen beaches in New Jersey's Cape May County, part of broader effort along its entire 127-mile coastline that includes building protective sand dunes on most of the state's beaches.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract this week to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company. The Illinois-based firm will reconstruct beaches and dunes in Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City.

"This project will provide critical protection to these coastal resort communities," said Robert Martin, the state's environmental protection commissioner.

Work will begin this winter. It was authorized in 2007 but not funded by Congress until last year as part of the post-Superstorm Sandy rebuilding effort.

The cost of initial construction will be paid entirely by the federal government under legislation passed by Congress following Sandy.

Residents in the southern end of Ocean City have been waiting for the replenishment work for years, even as beaches in the more erosion-prone northern half were fixed.

Work from 34th Street in Ocean City extending south to the boundary of Corson's Inlet State Park will involve construction of a dune 13 feet above sea level, with a 25-foot-width at the top and a berm extending 100 feet from the seaward base of the dune.

On Ludlum Island, which includes Strathmere and Sea Isle, the dune will be about 15 feet high and the berm 50 feet wide.

Following initial construction, the beaches will be nourished periodically over 50 years with the federal government paying for 65 percent of the work and the state paying 35 percent. The state will then get reimbursement from the local municipalities for 25 percent of the state share, which works out to about 9 percent of the total project cost.

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Contract OKd for Cape May county beach restoration