V.I. Moves A Step Closer to Tsunami-Ready Gov. John deJongh Jr. and V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Director Elton Lewis this week signed the territory’s first Tsunami Incident Annex. According to a Friday press release from Government House, it establishes guidelines for a widely-coordinated response to tsunami. The annex serves as addendum to the Territorial Emergency Operations Plan. “The devastation a tsunami can cause makes planning for it one of the highest...

The Tennessean, 2/3/12, Op-ed: Time to fund for New Madrid quake is now (The Tennessean runs op-ed signed by ProtectingAmerica.org co-chairs commemorating the New Madrid Bicentennial and urging the passage of a catastrophe fund.) Written by James Lee Witt and Adm. James Loy   Some of us may remember drills in school during the Cold War that had us prepare for a nuclear attack by hiding under desks and covering them in sheets. Fortunately, it never became a live exercise. Next week, 1.7...

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY
Jan. 3, 2012 – 6:06 p.m. Homeland Security Experts Weigh In: Where to Cut and Where to Spend By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff With the new year beginning, CQ has asked dozens of homeland security experts in the public, private and academic sectors to weigh in on the lessons of 2011 and what 2012 holds in store. In this second installment of a three-part series, respondents answered the question “In a tight budget environment, what homeland-related activities...

    STATE OF CONNECTICUT  DEPT. OF EMERGENCY SERVICES & PUBLIC PROTECTION  DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & HOMELAND SECURITY  TO: The Honorable Governor Dannel P. Malloy  FROM: William J. Hackett, State Emergency Management Director  Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS)  Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP)  RE: Proposed Process for Enhancement of State Preparedness Planning  DATE:...

James Lee Witt elevated to Chairman   WASHINGTON, D.C.—, 2011 Witt Associates, a leader in public safety and crisis management, today announced that it has named Kenneth Burris as its new Chief Executive Officer.  Burris will succeed James Lee Witt who has been elevated to Chairman of the Board.   Mr. Burris brings more than 35 years of extensive international emergency management experience to this position.  Formerly as Chief Operating Office of Witt Associates,...