This e was just sent around ... for those involved in community preparedness. -- Diane

The upcoming Senate hearing on Community Preparedness (May 25th) panel is set. Ed Yourdon, Liza Christian - Rogue River Y2K, and Michael Nolan - city administrator of Norfolk Nebraska, and myself will be witnesses. You can make an invaluable contribution to these hearings by submitting written testimony which will become part of the senate record.

Written testimony may be whatever length you believe appropriate and should be delivered to the Special Committee office. An electronic copy may be provided on a disk or emailed to year2000@y2ksenate.gov with a subject of "May 25 Hearing Statement". It needs to be submitted no later than May 20th for inclusion into the record.

It would be very helpful if you can include lessons learned (what worked, what didn't), problems, successes, needs, insights, etc. of the hands-on experiences you've had helping to organize your communities. Your experience is needed and of great value, and needs to be recorded. Hearing testimony and statements will be available to everyone on the Senate website.

General information on the hearings is/will be posted on the Senate Special Committee website. If you are going to be in DC and wish to attend the hearing, please let Tania Calhoun know ahead of time (tania_calhoun@y2k.senate.gov). It appears space may be limited. If you have any other questions about the hearings, please contact year2000@y2ksenate.gov.

Thanks to all! Keep up the fantastic work!

Paloma O'Riley
Cassandra Project

See also ... Ed Yourdons request ...

Need help preparing testimony for Senate Y2K hearing

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000o2K

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999

Answers

"You can make an invaluable contribution to these hearings by submitting written testimony which will become part of the senate record."

QUESTION ... Should the forum put something together for submission on the diffuculty of preparing for something that the general populace, Koskinen's office and most the newsmedia downplay in order to quell potential panic?

Just a thought.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999.

Diane,

I don't know what it would look like, or how it would work, but I think you've got a good idea there -- "Should the forum put something together for submission..."

-- pshannon (pshannon@sangersreview.com), May 13, 1999.

Give them a hot link to this Forum. Not that they will read it, but seekers in the coming months will have a trail to find our nuggets ;^)

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), May 13, 1999.

pshannon,

I'm not sure what it would look like either, but "opportunity" awaits. Gonna "thunk" on it a spell.

Leska,

Somehow, I suspect the Senate Y2K committee already knows about this place and even has a "link" so-to-speak! ;-D

What would be good "essay" topics that the Y group would consider "key" and willing to add thoughtful commentary to?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999.

KISS: Preparation, on both a personal and community level, prevents panic. Panic is what everyone wants to avoid at all costs, isn't it?

-- regular (zzz@z.z), May 13, 1999.

Quick slap in here ... gotta run! Gone today.

Id be willing to write a first draft -- from the internet perspective -- if pshannon and others would edit it.

Ill check in this evening.

Diane

Posted an earlier e below, from Steve Davis at this thread for Ed ...

Thanks for fabulous feedback re my Senate panel question

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 000o5i

[snip]

Ed,

Sent around a few "e's" too. -- Diane

This was just sent around on Steve Daviss civicprep list (Coalition 2000) ...

Just want to let everyone know that I am in contact with the Committee and will make sure that they have a full understanding about what we are about and up to and that they are aware of the good deeds and tools that you have all contributed. I have also talked with FEMA and the President's Council recently about the preparedness message (vs the 3-day storm) issues and can report they are receptive and positive about getting the preparedness message out. I think we have forged a good relationship and will be able to have a positive influence on what we do as a nation.

Stay tuned for more news soon.

Best ...

Steve Davis

http://www.davislogic.com

http://www.coalition2000.org

Sent on same message by someone else (JaNickrson@aol.com -- www.Y2KConnections.com) ...

I met with Wilke Green, the Minority Staff Director for the Senate Y2K committee last week. He mentioned that the Senate Y2K Committee will be holding hearings on individual prepareness for Y2K in the next couple of weeks, and that they were still looking for witnesses to testify.

The phone number for the Senate Y2K Committee is 202-224-5224. The staffperson coordinating this is Tania Calhoon.

I hope you'll consider offering your testimony, or passing this on to someone who you feel would represent the urgency and opportunity to build community not crises around Y2K.

Critt Jarvis pointed out on the Coalition 2000 listserve a website on which Ed Yourdon indicates he will be testifying. I respect and support Ed's view why Y2K will not be just a 3 day snowstorm. Here is what Ed says about testifying. You can click on the hyperlink below to go to his website, where he is collecting input from people. ...

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 000o2K

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 10, 1999.

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999.

PPP

Preparation Prevents Panic

should be the slogan of the committee.

(Thanks for the phrase, 'regular')

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@nevia.net), May 13, 1999.

An e just sent out ...

From Coalition 2000 (Steve Davis)

I have been invited to submit written testimony to the Senate Special Committee on Y2K. This will be on behalf of the Coalition, for the record, and in conjunction with the hearing on individual/community preparedness and the role of the media in providing information to assist individuals and communities in making reasonable Y2K preparations.

I plan to use our community preparedness guidelines as a basis for the testimony. In addition, I have asked the Arlington Institute and the Center for Y2K and Society to provide input on the media issues based on the work that they have been doing on this topic. While I have a good understanding of the position, concerns, and issues of many of our participants I understand that these are sometimes diverse. Based on the consensus building exercise used to develop the guidelines and the information from the surveys that many of you have sent in, I have a pretty good understanding of where we are as a group. However, I want to invite everyone to provide their comments and ideas for inclusion in the testimony. When final, I will post it on our web site.

Please get you comments to me as soon as possible. If you want to share them with others please do not use this list but, rather, use civicprep@4hlists.org.

Best...
Steve Davis

http://www.davislogic.com

http://www.coalition2000.org

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 14, 1999.

For Immediate Release

Dateline: May 13, 1999
Contact: Liza K. Christian
Voice: 541-482-1667
eMail: windsong@grrtech.com
Postal: P O Box 3580, Ashland 97520

U.S. Senate Hearing May 25 ____________________

Local Organizer Invited to Testify

Liza K. Christian, former Executive Director of the Rogue Valley Y2k Task Force (RV-Y2k) recently received a formal invitation from Senator Robert Bennett, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Problem. Ms. Christian has been invited to testify at a Special Senate Hearing scheduled for May 25, 1999 in the Dirksen Building of the nation's capitol. The Hearing will examine the issue of community and individual Y2k preparedness, and the related role the media plays in providing information to assist communities and individuals in their preparedness efforts.

It is a unique honor that a Rogue Valley community organizer was selected to participate in this significant event. Ms. Christian is one of four people invited to testify. The other participants include Paloma O'Riley co-founder of the Cassandra Project; Edward Yourdon, a computer engineer and author of Time Bomb 2000; and Michael Nolan, City Administrator of Norfolk, Nebraska. Each individual will present oral as well as written testimony to the Senate Special Committee.

The United States Senate has requested input in the following areas:

1) steps our community has taken to prepare for the Y2k problem;

2) notable experiences regarding these efforts (including obstacles and aids to preparation);and

3) views on the role media plays in providing information that assists communities and individuals in making preparations for the Y2k problem.

If you or your colleagues would like to submit written testimony for inclusion in Ms. Christian's written presentation, (particularly as it relates to local media coverage, and what you see as your cooperation to facilitate awareness and prudent preparation in our area), please notify her (by telephone or eMail) of your interest. Deadline for submission is May 20.

###

See the Rogue Valley web-site ...

http://www.rv-y2k.org

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 14, 1999.