Saturday, January 22, 2022
Friday, January 21, 2022
FAITH-BASED EXEMPTIONS: BYU Regulates Dating On-Campus
Feds Open Investigation On BYU's Dating Ban For LGBTQ Students
Students who hold hands or kiss someone of the same sex face harsher discipline than heterosexual couples at the school operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education has opened a civil-rights investigation into how LGBTQ students are disciplined at Brigham Young University, a private religious school.
The complaint under investigation came after the school said it would still enforce a ban on same-sex dating even after that section was removed from the written version of the school’s honor code, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Students can be punished for holding hands or kissing someone of the same sex, harsher discipline than that faced by heterosexual couples at the school operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Federal scrutiny like this is rare at church-owned schools, and typically happens only in places where there are believed to be potential systemic or serious issues, said Michael Austin, a BYU graduate and vice president at the University of Evansville, a private Methodist school in Indiana.
“It’s really significant that investigators are stepping in now,” he told the newspaper. The new investigation appears to be about whether those exemptions allow faith-based discipline for LGBTQ students even if the behavior is not directly related to education or expressly prohibited in its written honor code.
The school’s president argued those exemptions do apply, and everyone who attends or works at BYU agrees to follow the honor code and “‘voluntarily commit to conduct their lives in accordance with the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ,’” according to a letter Kevin Worthen wrote to the Department of Education in November 2021.
In a response obtained by the Tribune, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights affirmed the school does have some religious exemptions but the department had to investigate whether the complaint it received falls under those exemptions.
LGBTQ rights have been a major issue in recent years at the school located in Provo, Utah. A lawsuit filed by several students last year alleges discrimination, with one recent graduate who is a lesbian alleging she lost her job at the school because she didn’t look “feminine enough” to her boss.
That clarification sparked protests on BYU’s campus and outside church headquarters and contributed to a handful of BYU and BYU-Idaho students joining a federal lawsuit last spring challenging faith-based schools’ ability to access government funds if they don’t follow LGBTQ anti-discrimination rules.
The institution has also banned protests near its large letter “Y” posted on a mountainside after protesters lit the letter with rainbow colors. Last fall, a top-ranking church leader publicly criticized faculty members and students who challenge the faith’s teachings on same-sex marriage."
RELATED CONTENT
BYU responds to federal investigation of its LGBTQ policies
Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights affirms BYU’s religious exemptions to federal law in 15 areas, including housing and admissions.
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating BYU’s policies regarding LGBTQ students and whether they are covered by Title IX exemptions issued to the religious-based university in Provo, Utah.
The investigation by the federal department’s Office of Civil Rights began on Oct. 21, a department spokesman confirmed on Thursday. The BYU investigation is one of more than 1,400 ongoing investigations at U.S. schools and is based on a March 2020 complaint. . . "
ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION Staff Open Meeting Notice & Agenda 02.08.2022
STAFF OPEN MEETING
OF THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
8:30 A.M.
Hearing Room One
1200 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
This shall serve as notice of an open meeting at the above location for consideration and discussion of the items on the agenda and other matters related thereto. Commissioners may attend the proceedings in person, or by telephone, video, or internet conferencing,and may use this open meeting to ask questions about the matters on the agenda. The parties to the matters to be discussed or their legal representatives are requested, though not required, to attend telephonically. The Commissioners may move to executive session, which will not be open to the public, for the purpose of legal advice pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03 (A) (3) on the matters noticed herein.
Because of the guidance issued by state and federal officials regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, only essential Commission staff will attend in person. The public is strongly discouraged from attending in person. The public will be able to participate by either watching and listening to the meeting online or listening to the meeting via telephone.
Persons with a disability may request reasonable accommodations by contacting the Commission Secretary listed above at least 48 hours before the scheduled commencement of the Open Meeting.
Agendas are also available online at: http://www.azcc.gov/live
Dial-in Phone Number: 1-888-450-5996 Passcode to Listen Only: 3063803
NOTE: The Commission may choose to take testimony under oath.
AGENDA
- Arizona Corporation Commission – Legislative Update and Commission discussion, consideration, and possible vote to support, oppose and/or be neutral on any bills listed in the bill summary (link for bill summary to follow). (Nick Debus)
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This shall serve as notice of an open meeting at the above location for consideration and discussion of the items on the agenda and other matters related thereto. Commissioners may attend the proceedings in person, or by telephone, video, or internet conferencing,and may use this open meeting to ask questions about the matters on the agenda. The parties to the matters to be discussed or their legal representatives are requested, though not required, to attend telephonically. The Commissioners may move to executive session, which will not be open to the public, for the purpose of legal advice pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03 (A) (3) on the matters noticed herein.
Because of the guidance issued by state and federal officials regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, only essential Commission staff will attend in person. The public is strongly discouraged from attending in person. The public will be able to participate by either watching and listening to the meeting online or listening to the meeting via telephone.
Persons with a disability may request reasonable accommodations by contacting the Commission Secretary listed above at least 48 hours before the scheduled commencement of the Open Meeting.
Agendas are also available online at: http://www.azcc.gov/live
RED CROSS HACK...
Red Cross implores hackers not to leak data for 515k “highly vulnerable people”
Hack on Red Cross storage contractor follows a separate hacking incident last year.
"The Red Cross on Wednesday pleaded with the threat actors behind a cyberattack that stole the personal data of about 515,000 people who used a program that works to reunite family members separated by conflict, disaster, or migration.
"While we don't know who is responsible for this attack, or why they carried it out, we do have this appeal to make to them," Robert Mardini, the director-general of the International Committee for the Red Cross, said in a release. “Your actions could potentially cause yet more harm and pain to those who have already endured untold suffering. The real people, the real families behind the information you now have are among the world's least powerful. Please do the right thing. Do not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data."
NOTE: Wednesday’s release said the personal data was obtained through the hack of a Switzerland-based subcontractor that stores data for the Red Cross. The data was compiled by at least 60 different Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies worldwide. The ICRC said it has no "immediate indications as to who carried out this cyber-attack" and is so far unaware of any of the compromised information being leaked or shared publicly.
Those affected had used Restore Family Links, a service the Red Cross operates in cooperation with the Red Crescent to reunite families. On Wednesday, the site was down. The Internet Archive last updated it on December 27, raising the possibility of the breach occurring a few weeks ago.
The release provided few details about the attack. It’s not clear if it was done by profit-motivated ransomware criminals, nation-state hackers, or others. . .
[...] Last September, the ICRC confirmed it was on the receiving end of a hack the previous April that compromised login credentials and other data that could be used to target agencies within the intergovernmental organization. The earliest known date the hackers obtained access to the UN's systems, Bloomberg News reported, was April 5, and the hackers remained active through at least August. The breach came to light when private researchers noticed login credentials for sale on the dark web."
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ARE THEY KIDDING OR WHAT? US accuses Russia of conspiring to take over Ukraine government...Remember Victoria Nuland
RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG
Ukraine on Fire | Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt phone call
Phone call intercepted between Conservative Republicans Victoria Neuland and Ambassador Geoffrey - who are 'interfering in the election' by essentially selecting who will be-in-charge,
Guy named YAZ for short ... Let's cut through the current bullshit
Watch and listen as the U.S. officials discuss and plan the overthrow of a democratically elected president Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine. This is undeniable proof of U.S. government and officials organizing bloody regime change in Ukraine.
Learn about some behind the scene truths about how Ukraine became the powder keg it is today. #Ukraineonfire
Strained relations between US & Russia could soon be on mend, Moscow says, despite key meeting with Biden’s envoy breaking down
“Of course, no one expected that some enchanting event would happen,” she said. According to Zakharova, Victoria Nuland, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs, “has no authority to resolve all the outstanding obstacles at once.”
“At the same time, we took stock of problematic issues that need to be solved before we can move forward even in principle,” she told the Zvezda news channel . . .
US accuses Russia of conspiring to take over Ukraine government
Treasury imposes sanctions on four current and former Ukraine government officials it says involved in alleged conspiracy
The US has alleged that Russian intelligence is recruiting current and former Ukrainian government officials to take over the government in Kyiv and cooperate with a Russian occupying force.
The US Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Ukrainian members of parliament and two former officials it said were involved in the alleged conspiracy, which involved discrediting the current government of the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Russia has directed its intelligence services to recruit current and former Ukrainian government officials to prepare to take over the government of Ukraine and to control Ukraine’s critical infrastructure with an occupying Russian force,” the Treasury statement accompanying the sanctions said.
The claims suggest US intelligence fears Russia is preparing a full-scale invasion and not the “minor incursion” that Joe Biden referred to as a possibility in remarks on Wednesday that triggered alarm in Kyiv. . .
[...]
The US has threatened unprecedented sanctions against Russia if it goes ahead with an invasion, though there are disagreements with European allies, as Biden admitted on Wednesday, on how extensive the punitive measures should be. European capitals have resisted the suggestion that Russia should be cut off from the international electronic payment system, Swift.
The US, the UK and other allies have also continued to supply arms to Ukraine, in a move aimed at raising the costs of an invasion, and potentially contributing to a Ukrainian insurgency in the wake of an invasion. . .
“There’s been a lot of speculation about President Putin’s true intentions, but we don’t actually have to guess. He’s told us repeatedly. He’s laying the groundwork for an invasion because he doesn’t believe that Ukraine is a sovereign nation,” the US secretary of state, Tony Blinken, said in a speech in Berlin.
Blinken is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva on Friday. . ."
READ MORE FROM THE ARTICLE BY JULIAN BORGER: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/20/us-russia-ukraine-government-sanctions
FACT SHEET: HUD Year 1
Take a look and read the details:
HUD NEWS
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary
Office of Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20410
HUD No. 22-011
HUD Public Affairs
202-708-0685
FACT SHEET: HUD Year 1
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over the last year has taken bold action in pursuit of the agency’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes. These actions aligned with key Biden-Harris Administration priorities including ensuring equity, removing barriers to homeownership, expanding the nation’s housing supply, and keeping Americans housed. Below are the agency’s top accomplishments from the last year.
Launched a Whole-of-Government Effort to Ensure All Americans Are Treated Fairly in the Home Appraisals Process. On June 1, President Biden tasked Secretary Fudge with leading a first-of-its-kind interagency initiative to address inequity in home appraisals and help families of color build wealth. In partnership with Ambassador Susan Rice and the Domestic Policy Council, HUD created the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Task Force, bringing together federal agencies to identify and utilize all levers at their disposal to root out discrimination in the home appraisal process. The report to the President will document the scope of the problem and provide detailed, actionable agency commitments.
Launched All-Hands-on-Deck Effort to Address Homelessness Crisis. On September 20, Secretary Fudge launched House America, a national partnership with other Administration officials, mayors, county officials, governors, and tribal nation leaders across the nation. The plan works with those leaders to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources to re-house at least 100,000 people experiencing homelessness and add at least 20,000 new affordable and permanent supportive housing units to address homelessness into the development pipeline by the end of 2022.
Prevented Evictions and Foreclosures. HUD helped prevent eviction of HUD-assisted households and stabilize families struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying the historic funding made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act and ARP to help keep families stably housed. HUD worked closely with the White House and the Treasury Department, providing the Department’s expertise to inform Emergency Rental Assistance Program policy guidance and lift up best practices. HUD helped homeowners behind on their mortgages stay in their homes by extending mortgage forbearance. As borrowers leave forbearance, HUD worked with Treasury to integrate the Homeowner Assistance Fund with new policies released by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to help struggling homeowners keep their homes. As a result of HUD and other federal government actions and supports, evictions and foreclosures were well below historic averages.
Stood Up a New $5 Billion HOME-ARP Program to Assist Some of The Country’s Most Vulnerable Populations. The Office of Community Planning and Development has made funding available to 651 state and local governments, which will be used to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability by providing funding for rental housing development, acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter, tenant-based rental assistance, and supportive services. HUD released a portion of grantee administrative funds at the outset of the program to better support the planning activities that lead to effective use of grant funding.
Provided Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). As part of ARP, HUD provided 70,000 housing choice vouchers to local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). These vouchers assist individuals and families who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness, fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, are formerly incarcerated, or were recently homeless or have a high risk of housing instability. HUD requires PHAs to partner with local Continuums of Care to ensure that eligible households are referred to this voucher program.
Removed Barriers to Homeownership for Those with Student Loan Debt. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) updated its policy on student loan monthly payment calculations to remove barriers and provide more access to affordable single-family FHA-insured mortgage financing for creditworthy individuals with student loan debt, which has disproportionate impact on communities of color. The updates removed the previous requirement that lenders calculate a borrower’s student loan monthly payment of one percent of the outstanding student loan balance for student loans that are not fully amortizing. The new policy bases the monthly payment on the actual student loan payment, more closely aligning FHA policies with industry standards.
Set the Stage for Increased Fair Housing and Lending Enforcement and Access. HUD signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to kick off a historic collaboration on fair housing and fair lending enforcement and oversight engagement with the FHFA-regulated entities including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. This comprehensive effort will ensure deeper collaboration on fair housing investigations and enable data sharing to help strengthen and affirmatively further fair housing for the mortgage industry. In addition, HUD Published a legal memorandum making it clear that certain Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) that are lawful under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) generally are not barred by the Fair Housing Act, allowing their use by lenders to expand access to credit in underserved communities.
Took Action to Increase Housing Supply and Access to Affordable Housing. HUD restarted its Housing Finance Agency (HFA) risk-sharing program with Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank (FFB) on September 1 to develop more affordable rental homes. The program allows HFAs to obtain FHA insurance on multifamily mortgages they underwrite, with HUD and the HFA sharing the risk of any potential loss. FHA anticipates that approximately 20,000 affordable rental homes will be created or preserved through the program through 2027. HUD also made more single-family homes available to individuals, families, and non-profit organizations – rather than large investors – by prioritizing homeownership and limiting sale to large investors of certain FHA-insured and HUD-owned properties. Finally, HUD released new research on actions that state and local governments can take to increase their housing supply and is developing a Housing Supply Toolkit filled with easy-to-implement strategies for grantees to deploy HUD resources to address supply and affordability challenges that have been deepened by the pandemic.
Restored the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Requirement. The Department published an interim final rule (IFR) that went into effect on July 31st to restore the implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s AFFH requirement. Under the restored AFFH regulatory definition in the IFR, HUD funding recipients must regularly certify compliance with the Fair Housing Act’s AFFH requirement and commit to taking steps to remedy their fair housing issues in making such certifications. The IFR helps HUD, 3,747 public housing authorities, and 1,200 state and local government grantees in the CDBG, HOME, and HOPWA programs fulfill their AFFH obligations under the Fair Housing Act.
Strengthened Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. HUD announced a historically strong Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund Report showing that, in addition to its emphasis on delivering relief options to homeowners financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, FHA continued to deliver on its mission of enabling homeownership for first-time and low- and moderate-income, and households of color. The Fund remains well positioned to withstand future economic events and endure the outcomes from the pandemic-induced delinquencies that remain in forbearance or are seriously delinquent. The percentage of first-time homebuyers using FHA insurance reached a new high and the share of mortgages insured by FHA to minority borrowers reached almost 42 percent of all FHA forward mortgage insurance endorsements. FHA served double the percentage of Black and Hispanic borrowers when compared to those served through mortgage originations by the rest of the housing market this past fiscal year.
Protected the LGBTQ+ Community from Housing Discrimination. On February 11th, HUD announced that it would interpret the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity, consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order 13988 and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. This decision has expanded the protections of the Fair Housing Act to a community that has historically been subject to discrimination. Through its partner FHIPs and FHAPs agencies, HUD has processed 235 cases alleging sex discrimination due to gender identity and sexual orientation last year, nearly twice as many cases than last year.
Provided Housing Assistance and Supportive Services for Native Americans. The American Rescue Plan provides $750 million for assistance for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians, helping reduce housing-related health risks during the pandemic.
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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.
You can also connect with HUD on social media and follow Secretary Fudge on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List.
CANCELLED: MAG Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee
Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee 1/27/2022 Meeting (Canceled)
SEE THE AIR QUALITY HERE:
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The January 27, 2022 meeting of the MAG Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee has been canceled.
This is posted on the MAG website at https://azmag.gov/Event/31827.
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Flash News: Ukraine Intercepts Russian Kh-59 Cruise Missile Using US VAMPIRE Air Defense System Mounted on Boat. Ukrainian forces have made ...
