In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

I wanted to tell you that a routine test last week found  that my leukemia has come back after being in remission for the past year. As a result, I have returned to the hospital for more treatment in preparation for a bone marrow transplant.
Obviously, this is disappointing news, particularly as I have been feeling quite [...]

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Taking a little time away from their work dealing with the H1N1 flu among other issues for a bit of fun, the staff of the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) has assembled their Top 10 list of favorite public health books. As the group explains on their website:
In an effort to develop [...]

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There was an interesting article last week in the New York Times, ”Permanent Flood Solutions Just Out of Reach for Fargo,” by Kirk Johnson and Monica Davey. The piece uses Fargo (and neighboring Grand Forks) as a case study to illustrate a common dynamic when it comes to disasters — attention, action and funding are often in [...]

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A year ago, I started this blog and wrote my first post. It has been great fun and really fascinating to do. I have learned so much during the past year. I hope the blog has been interesting and enjoyable to read, and that it has had a constructive impact on readers and their families [...]

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The U.S Senate yesterday passed the “Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act”, which would significantly raise the number of Americans who can participate in national service programs, including those to help prepare for and respond to disasters. The legislation calls for tripling the size of the AmeriCorps to 750,000 and expanding incentives for students and seniors to give [...]

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The British Home Office has just released a new report with its anti-terror strategy which reports that the risk of a WMD attack on the United Kingdom is increasing. HLS Watch has a good summary of how the new report fits into the British government’s overall approach to terrorism. 
The U.K. has been relatively open with its citizens about [...]

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As I mentioned in the previous post, the blog has been temporarily on hiatus since October when completely out of the blue I was diagnosed with leukemia. I am now in the midst of treatment but am feeling very well and hopefully am on the mend. (I very much appreciate the kind notes I have [...]

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Recently, I was diagnosed with an illness which will reduce the level of my blogging over in the next couple months. 
Thank you for your support of and involvement in this blog since it was launched. I hope you will bear with me during this period.
Best,
John

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I had been meaning to write about the work of the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP). So, I was happy to read a good article on DAP in the most recent issue of Natural Hazards Observer, the terrific (and free) bimonthly publication of the University of Colorado’s Natural Hazards Center.  
The article, “Disaster Accountability Project Uses Volunteers to Monitor [...]

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The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) recently released a report titled Top Ten Challenges Facing the Next Secretary of Homeland Security. Comprised of “leaders from state and local government, first responder communities, the private sector, and academia,” the HSAC was created to provide “advice and recommendations to the Secretary on matters related to homeland security.”
Though I might have [...]

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