Policy on the #NNK

Monday must-read: The Benefits of Talking to Yourself https://t.co/HzedqwP3yi @nytimes — Susie Cambria (@susiecambria) June 26, 2017

Here's your weekly dose of TA. Enjoy. The Community Canvas : This site provides a framework, a template, to be used to help people build more meaningful communities. But it also provides so much more. There is a summary, an explanation of the three sections and 17 themes, worksheets, and the Facebook Community Builder Group. Documents are available in Google Drive and downloadable in Word and PDF. Free. Duomov : This free iPhone app allows two people to make videos by syncing two video clips with audio. Read The Next Web review This app lets you record split-screen footage with nearby friends . Strikes me that this app would be terrific for a range of community events, from festivals and fairs to public policy-related meetings. Dynamics of Cause Engagement : This report from Ogilvy Public Relations Georgetown University's Center for Social Impact Communication offers important and useful information about the ways people in the US respond to and think about social impact ...

Lancaster County The Lancaster County Board of Supervisors will meet Thursday, June 29 at 7:00 pm in the Lancaster County Administration Building (8311 Mary Ball Rd, Lancaster). The agenda includes the Public Input Session, VDOT presentation, a public hearing, review and approval of recent meetings, and adoption of the FY 2018 budget and related matters. The Lancaster County Sheriffs department offers the Fireworks Permit for free. A permit is required if fireworks explode, are launched into the air, or are explosive or inflammable compound or substance. Apply for a permit (PDF). Richmond County Take a look at the Richmond County adopted FY 2018 budget (PDF) and the Proposed FY18-FY22 Capital Improvement Plan (PDF). Westmoreland County Reminder: The Montross Town Council meeting will be held Tuesday, June 27 from 7:30–8:30 pm at the Town Hall (15869 Kings Highway, Montross). Questions? Email townofmontross@verizon.net or call (804) 493-9623. The Westmoreland County Buil...

The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors approved the FY 2018 budget last week. Read the PDF . Several changes from the proposed budget: The Northumberland County Public Schools previously approved budget of $17,351,915 was amended in the final budget. The FY 2018 budget for NCPS is $17,848,096. The Sheriff's Office approved budget is $2,508,293. This represents an increase over the approved FY 2017 budget, but approximately $70,000 less than the office requested. Ambulance/Rescue received an increase in FY 2018. The approved budget is $1,132,974. The Northern Neck Free Health Clinic was level-funded at $71,095 in FY 2018. The YMCA was level-funded at $50,000 in FY 2018. They had requested $100,000. More information will be forthcoming. It will include a spreadsheet with percentage change.

Harvard Business Review has a winning article in Beat Generosity Burnout . Authors Adam Grant, a Wharton professor, and Reb Rebele, Research Project Manager at Wharton, do more than the usual list of do's and don'ts.   Instead, they report their research on the ways givers can sustain their energy and effectiveness. Their to-avoid: "The road to exhaustion is often paved with good intentions."

Tweets of the June 12, 2017 Virginia Register are compiled below. [ View the story "Virginia Register of Regulations, Vol. 33 Iss. 21 - June 12, 2017, tweeted" on Storify ]

Here's your weekly dose of TA. Enjoy. To Manage Millennials, Lead Them Well : This Wharton article applies to other generations, too. Either way, a must-read for managers and supervisors at all levels of an organization. 37 Free Nonprofit Webinars for June 2017 : Wild Apricot's blog always delivers with a monthly list of free webinars for nonprofits (though others will find useful). Two upcoming sessions are Build Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement (June 27) and Measuring Success: How to Strategically Assess Your Program (June 29). Follow @WildApricot on Twitter for the monthly list announcement. SignUp.com : Having an event and need volunteers? This web-based tool is heaven sent! Add days, times, and the number of slots to be filled and let volunteers sign up. Free (even better!). Statista : A one-stop-shop for all kinds of data. The data is from multiple databases from across the globe. In addition to the numbers, you can download graphs for free. The data in Excel is ...

Lancaster County The Irvington Town Council held their budget hearing June 15. Irvington budget hearing stretches 90 minutes details what transpired. The Irvington Town Council will vote on the FY 2018 budget Thursday, June 22 at 6:30 pm at town hall (235 Steamboat Road, Irvington). Lancaster County Board of Supervisors' official June 22 public hearing notice on the FY 2018 budget is online . You'll find the full proposed budget, proposed budget summary, and Proposed CY 2017 Tax Levy Ordinance. The Kilmarnock Town Council will meet Monday, June 19 at 7:00 pm at Kilmarnock Town Hall (1 North Main Street, Kilmarnock). Richmond County Changes, new face, proposals introduced at Council meeting briefly accounts that the Warsaw Town Council approved the FY 2018 budget. The print edition of the June 14 edition of Northern Neck News and online edition (paywall) contain more details about what made it in the approved budget: body-worn cameras for police, software for the...

Learn about the Chesapeake Bay Saturday, June 17, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm as the Northern Neck Soil & Water Conservation District participates in RivahFest! in downtown Tappahannock. NNSWCD will engage festival goers with the ever-popular Mobile Education Unit. The unit takes people on a walk through "The World Beneath Your Feet." Learn about conservation and the role it plays in preserving the bay.

On June 15, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that $83.3 million is being awarded to nonprofits and governments in cities and counties throughout Virginia. The grants will fund a variety of programs, which the governor described as "essential," across the criminal justice system. Funding will be available for program operations in FY 2018, which begins July 1. According to the press release the funding is "from state appropriations and special funds, as well as from federal funds allocated to Virginia for justice system improvements." Gov. McAuliffe said "the funds will help communities respond effectively to crimes against women, help our juvenile justice system prevent delinquency, and provide treatment and advocacy for abused or neglected children." Of the $83.3 million (PDF), $1,982,175 was allocated to the Northern Neck counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland. Northumberland County Victim Witness Program ($44,712) Kil...

Develop the power you have within yourself and your community at Virginia Organizing's Grassroots Gathering 2017 , September 29 - October 1, 2017 . Join people from across Virginia in learning and honing skills through workshops, speakers, and meeting others. Learn more about Virginia Organizing in this video:

The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors will hold a land use meeting Wednesday, June 14 at 6:00 pm at George. D. English, Sr. Memorial Building (111 Polk Street, Montross). Read the June 14 agenda (PDF). In preparation for the meeting, planning staff has prepared the following reports: 1706-SE-02 Foxwell (Westmoreland) : The property is approximately 185 acres, split by Gardy's Mill Road through the middle. The central portion of the acreage is cleared and currently used as cropland. The outer portion is wooded and moderately sloped down to water or wetlands. There are also two homes and assorted outbuildings near the road. The applicants would like to develop the property as a solar generation facility, commonly known as a solar farm. The solar panel arrays would be placed on the already cleared areas of the property. Minimal removal of additional trees is anticipated in order to reduce shading from the south. The agenda description: PUBLIC HEARING - CASE #1706-SE-02...

The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors met June 7 and June 12 to hammer out the proposed FY 2018 budget. They will meet again Thursday, June 15 at 7:00 pm in the Board of Supervisors meeting room (old courthouse, Heathsville). They've got two weeks to get the budget finalized. FY 2018 starts July 1. Discussed: Judicial Administration, Juvenile & Domestic Relations (20, 2105), Detention Expenses (3000) : The Merrimac Juvenile Detention Center Board, of which the county is a member with the CA sitting on that board, requested $52,038 for FY 2018, an increase of $2,038 from the approved FY 2017 budget. However, when looking at the year to date expenditures of $25,000, the Board decided to level-fund this element of the Juvenile & Domestic Relations program budget. Naturally, additional funding would be allocated if demand required it. Judicial Administration Law Enforcement - Sheriff (20, 3102), Wages - Part-Time (1002) : The sheriff has hired additional part-time...

TA Tuesday is a new feature. As the title suggests, we'll talk all manner of technical assistance on Tuesdays. The TA may involve webinars or trainings, good reads, useful tools, all to make your public policy work better, more effective, more engaging. 10 Random, But Useful Online Communications Tips for Nonprofits : Some of the highlights: coordinate tweets and Facebook posts with fundraising, advocacy, and news; use only one or two hashtags per tweet, and link screenshots of videos in e-newsletters and fundraising appeals to donate pages with the video embedded. Communication Audit Checklist : This free audit tool from Nonprofit Toolkit helps organizations determine if their look, feel, and sound are consistent across their organization. SumOfUs A Progressive's Style Guide (PDF) If your organization is progressive, this guide is for you. It is, according to the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative, This is a rich resource of effective, sensible, and appropriate adv...

Lancaster County Lancaster County is holding a public hearing on their FY 2018 budget Thursday, June 22 at 7:00 pm . Details are in Lancaster County Budget Public Hearing of June 22 2017 - Notice . In addition to the proposed budget (Google Drive, downloadable to Excel), the Board of Supervisors will hear testimony on Lancaster County Tax Levy Ordinance CY2017 - Proposed Ordinance Text . (See Lancaster County Tax Levy Ordinance CY2017 - Notice of Public Hearing .) Learn more about the proposed budget in Lancaster supervisors advertise 5¢ tax hike . Northumberland County The Board of Supervisors will hold an FY 2018 budget work session Monday, June 12 at 6:00 pm in the supes meeting room (old courthouse, Heathsville). Richmond County The Richmond County Public Schools 2017–2018 School Calendar (PDF) is online. Westmoreland County The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors will hold a regular meeting Monday, June 12 at 6:00 pm at the George D. English, Sr. Memorial Buil...

The Middle Neck News article Bon Secours Officials Hold Meeting To Explain Changes describes the June 6 town hall on radical changes at the hospital as "lively, and sometimes contentious." The article also reports that Bon Secours Richmond East CEO Mark Gordon and others "tried to calm community fears about the future of the RGH." If the explanations verbalized at the meeting were anything like the fact sheets (below) handed out at the meeting, it's no wonder Gordon had to repeat the message. For example, Q. Why are you suspending the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)? A: Over the past few years, Bon Secours has seen a shift to larger centers with available specialty care for many intensive care level patients. Versus, well, something that makes sense to non-health professionals. Something in the tradition of plain language . Rappahannock General Hospital June 6, 2017 Town Hall handout by Susie Cambria on Scribd Full disclosure: I did not attend the to...

The next Northumberland County BoS FY 2018 work session: Monday, June 12, 6p in BoS room in the old courthouse. The public is welcome. — Susie Cambria (@susiecambria) June 10, 2017

The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors June 8 meeting lasted all of 15 minutes exclusive of the public hearing section. The highlight was the report by Dr. Holly Wargo, Superintendent of Northumberland County Schools. Her prepared report is below. One note: in the NNTC section, (N) represents the number of seniors who were students. Where no (N) appears, juniors were students. The next supes meeting will be held Thursday, July 13 at 5:00 pm . June 8, 2017 Northumberland County Public Schools Report by Susie Cambria on Scribd

Public policy and advocacy don't just happen out of thin air. You need to do research. You need to write. After you do that, you have to share the policy and/or advocate. Here are some tools which can help. Strime.io ― This free web application, a collaborative video editing tool, allows you to collect comments and edits frame-by-frame. It is recommended by Robin Good . 39 Free Tools for Creating Unique Images ― This list from Sprout Social includes a range of tools, from Canva to Recite (quotation maker) to Fotor (collage-maker) to Profile Picture Maker. Orai ― This public speaking improvement app, currently only available for iPhones, can help according to FastCompany's Learn How To Love Talking In Public (And Stop Saying "Um" And "Like") With This New App . 10 Random, But Useful Online Communications Tips for Nonprofits ― This Nonprofit Tech for Good post delivers. Some of the best ideas are coordinating tweets, Facebook posts, eletters, and fun...

The State Board of Health is considering amending the Rules and Regulations Governing Campgrounds ( Title 35.1 - Hotels, Restaurants, Summer Camps, and Campgrounds ) in order to improve campground safety and to recognize current use of campgrounds. The 244 permitted campgrounds across the state, listed in Permitted Campgrounds 2016 dataset , and any newly permitted facilities would be effected by the proposed changed regs. The changes would also affect 31 campgrounds in the eight counties which make up the Three Rivers Health District. No waivers were requested between 2015 and May 12, 2017 for this health district. Modifying regs to reflect current campground use The May 29 amendment, public hearing, and public comment notice explains the changes in campground use since 2015: The current definition of a campground (contained in § 35.1-1 of the Code of Virginia) requires an owner to comply with the regulations when three or more designated campsites are intended for occupancy fo...

The internet is no longer a luxury. It is as basic and necessary as running water and electricity. And research from the USDA — Broadband Internet's Value for Rural America — found Private earnings—all earnings, excluding farm earnings and Federal, State and local government earnings—were greater for the treatment counties than for the control counties. The results we obtained are consistent with the argument that broadband Internet access has a positive effect on rural communities. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that investment in broadband Internet access leads to a more competitive economy. The authors of this report also wrote that broadband benefits include "medical, educational, and job services. One particular benefit is telemedicine." Further, lack of broadband — reliance on dial-up — stifles interest in the internet and its utility. What is VATI and how it can help The Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) can help address inequity in connectiv...

[ View the story "May 29, 2017 Virginia Register of Regulations tweeted" on Storify ]

Learn how to write effective opinion pieces in the Wednesday, June 7, 2:00-3:00 pm webinar Mastering the Art of Opinion Writing . Brought to you by The Communications Network , this free training will teach participants how to engage readers with a strong argument, what "billboarding" and "prism building" are and why they are important, what to avoid, and spreading the word about your piece.