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The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan
Monday 14th November 2016 | By ma-admin
The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan, also known as the Bonfield Report, was officially launched on 20thOctober. Dr Peter Bonfield was appointed by Rory Stewart, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environmental and Rural Affairs to bring commercial interests together in a Roundtable to consider how collectively they could encourage and enable a better uptake of property flood resilience measures for properties at high risk of flood.
The Roundtable comprised private sector representatives from the charity, insurance, loss adjusting, business services, products, legal, surveying and flood recovery industries. They considered how home and business owners could be better equipped in a flood event to stop flood water entering their properties and speeding recovery if it does.
The Action Plan identified the reasons why people do not consistently prepare their properties for flooding, and then determined what could be done to address the challenges. The Roundtable have set in motion some tangible actions and have also made some high level recommendations for both Government and the business world.
In this opinion piece we consider the impact the Bonfield Report will have on the insurance and building industries, and talk about our own experience of flood claims. We also look at the flood resilience measures that are available and the changes in behaviours and attitudes that are needed.
December 2015 was the wettest December on record, but also the wettest calendar month overall since records began in 1910. More than 17,000 properties were flooded. According to the ABI the total cost to insurers was £1.3 billion and the average expected pay out for each domestic flood claim was £50,000 – compared with an average from the 2013/14 winter storms of £31,000.
The climate is changing and flood events are going to continue at regular intervals. Unless a coordinated plan is put into place insurance industry costs will continue to rise and misery and disruption will continue for thousands of home owners. Whilst investment in flood defences is vital, property level flood resilience measures can also be put in place. These can be preparatory measures for properties at risk of flooding, or can be installed during the repair of buildings after they have been flooded. Such measures can help prevent water getting into a property or aid rapid recovery by allowing property owners to simply washout and disinfect their properties rather than requiring wholesale restoration and reinstatement.
But the take up of property flood resilience measures remains low and, incredibly, it is not normal practice for properties in areas of high flood risk to be made more resilient before or after a flood. According to the Action Plan report the typical range of measures has a cost-benefit ratio in excess of £5 for every £1 invested in terms of reduced damages.
The vision and recommendations
The Action Plan sets out a vision for the future, together with recommendations. There will always be some properties that will be prone to flooding and the Roundtable has said it would like to see:
> After one year – a better national understanding of what property level resilience is.
> After 2 years – significant progress towards developing the systems and practices within the insurance, building and finance sectors that normalise the uptake of property level resilience within existing activity.
> After 3 to 5 years – a situation where those at high flood risk have the knowledge, capability and means to adapt their properties in ways that limit the physical damage of flooding on homes and businesses, and speed up their recovery.
> After 5 years – an environment where it is standard practice for properties at high flood risk to be made resilient.
The Report's recommendations are:
> Further exploration of whether Building Regulations can be better used to encourage flood resistant and resilient construction.
> Flood Re (see below) to provide the evidence over time needed to understand how householders and insurers can be supported, and potentially incentivised by Flood Re in the future, to manage the risk of flooding and reduce the cost of claims through resilience and other measures.
> Rigorous independent standards with proper certification processes for flood products and the installation of them.
> An independently run on-line information portal and data warehouse that properly informs householders and small businesses about what to do to make their properties resilient to flooding.
> A strong partnership between insurers, surveyors, the legal profession, materials producers and the government, to encourage and enable the take up of flood resilient measures and more flood resilient behaviour by householders and small businesses, including preparation for future flood events.
Property level resilience
Property Level Resilience (PLR) measures include installing flood doors, flood barriers, air brick covers, pointing or waterproofing brickwork, installing non-return valves and moving vulnerable features such as utility meters and electrical sockets to a more suitable height.
A package of measures should prevent water entering a house or should minimise the impact if water enters the house, speeding up the recovery process. Sometimes the water should be let in; for floods over 60cm depth, or of prolonged duration, attempting to keep the water out can cause serious structural damage due to the unequal water pressure either side of the walls.
As mentioned above, the typical range of measures have a cost-benefit ratio in excess of £5 for every £1 invested in terms of reduced damages.
The take up of flood resilient measures seems to be low because of a lack of information or incentive for property owners. Sometimes property owners don't know they are at risk of flooding, or think that a flood event they have just had is a one-off event. Many people also assume that only the authorities can manage flood risk and very few are aware of the grant schemes in place to help fund flood resilience measures.
There are many instances where property flood resilience measures have had the desired positive impact. The Action Plan gives details of two case studies where buildings became quickly operational again after flooding because flood resilient measures were used:
> The home owners of one property in Peckham had twice previously endured restoration and reinstatement programmes of over 9 months, but a few flood resilient measures prior to the Christmas 2013 floods ensured only one day of major disruption and no resulting insurance claim.
> After floods in 2007 a retail business moved all of its electrics higher up the walls and introduced over-head power cables for the machinery. Stock can now be fork-lifted up onto a new mezzanine level as well, so subsequent flood events have not caused major disruption.
Cost effective measures
Academic research has found flood protection measures to be cost effective*:
"While resilient repairs were found to be more expensive than traditional methods (average 34% higher) they were found to significantly reduce the repair costs assuming a subsequent flood were to take place. Resilient flood mitigation measures… will help in limiting the cost of repairs up to as much as 73 per cent for properties with a 20 per cent annual chance of flooding… the up-front investment would be recovered following a single subsequent flood event."
Many flood resilience measures are very cost effective and would add little to the cost of a property reinstatement, but save thousands on the next flood event. The ABI and National Flood Forum have issued a Flood Resilient Homes leaflet with figures that show how little extra needs to be spent during a property reinstatement to make a home more flood resilient.
For example, for a three bedroom semi-detached house, mounting a boiler on a wall above flood level would cost an extra £150 but would save about £700 on the next flood event. Replacing mineral insulation within walls with closed cell insulation would cost £270 more, but would save £360 next time the property floods. Moving electrics well above flood levels would cost about £375 more but save £425.
The ABI and CILA have produced a document called Flood resilience and resistance factsheet for insurers and loss adjusters. It provides underwriters, claims-handlers, and loss adjusters with a guide to flood resilience and improving flood protection at an individual property level. It states:
"Some flood-resilient measures do not cost much more than like-for-like, including moving services (electrics, boilers, and service-meters) well above likely flood level, and could be used for the repair of all properties that have been flooded. This technique will typically cost less than £1,000 extra for the repair, and could save more than £2,500 after the next flood."
Other measures are more costly than conventional repair, but will often pay for themselves after a single flood because the extra cost of installing flood resilience may be more than offset by the damage costs saved after the next flood. Examples include:
> Replacing gypsum plaster with more water-resistant material, such as lime plaster or cement render and renovating plaster.
> Installing water-resistant doors and window-frames (e.g. plastic or waxed good-quality hardwood, where appropriate).
> Replacing the usual chipboard kitchen or bathroom units with plastic or steel equivalents (where these are appropriate and cost-effective).
> Replacing timber floors with solid concrete (only where appropriate), using tiles and a water-proof membrane to prevent water penetration into concrete.
> Removing patio doors and installing conventional doors and windows with brickwork construction underneath.
> Installing one-way valves into drainage pipes to prevent sewage backing up into the house
Impact on insurers
Obviously the increasing number of floods and their related costs are a challenge for the insurance industry, a challenge that isn't just a result of climate change. More properties are being built on flood plains and more gardens and town centres are being concreted over, removing the natural soak-aways that existed and over-loading the drains and sewer systems.
A recent article in The Telegraph has criticised insurers for failing to make properties flood-proof when rebuilding them for flooded homeowners. The article has drawn attention to the fact that insurers reinstate a property to its pre claim condition. But "this often means merely replacing out-of-date or unsuitable fittings or buildings – the defects that led the properties to being vulnerable in the first place". Paul Cobbing, head of charity the National Flood Forum, said "We should be reducing risk with rebuilding. Insurance companies need to be more flexible. Small things, like installing different cavity wall insulation and plug sockets, would reduce costs for everyone."
The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan includes a survey carried out by BIBA which also provides evidence that insurers are not tackling this problem. In response to the questions about whether the insurers they use recognise any particular certification or standard for resilience measures or the firms installing resilience measures, 95% answered No.
The survey suggested that some insurers were willing to offer lower excesses or premiums if certain flood resilience measures were put into a property, but surprisingly almost 30% answered No to the question "would your insurer allow resilient/resistant repairs after a claim if it was cost neutral?" 48% answered No to the question "would your insurer allow resilient/resistant repairs after a claim if they were more expensive to repair that way?"
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that installing flood resilience measures at the property reinstatement phase is cost effective over the short to medium term. There is a lot of information available on how to make homes more flood resilient, and costings are available. And yet the insurance industry is not encouraging the installation of flood resilience measures.
The typical flood experience
We have been involved in many flood events over the years, and have seen a familiar pattern of events take place. The latest flood event in December 2015 gave us further insight into the issues that arise during a flood claim.
One case in particular demonstrates the issues. Our Cipher Professional subsidiary was assigned a substantial tender for a flood claim. The tender was authorised on 20th April 2016 and a pre-start visit took place on 26th April between all the parties concerned, including the home owner. The works were completed on schedule by 15th August and the customers moved back into their home.
The home owners were delighted with the completed works, in fact the surveyors remarked it was an outstanding performance. However this flood claim, as with many other claims that we regularly encounter, suffered from supply chain fragmentation. For the customer, their engagement with many different parties, aiming to support and help, was overwhelming and confusing.
The delay from incident to strip out was excessive and arguably allowed moisture to further penetrate into the fabric of building, making it more time consuming and more expensive to dry out and reinstate.
The sequence of events took too long. By splitting the drying from the strip out works and from the reinstatement works, weeks of unnecessary delay were added into the claim. If the drying had been given to the same contractor as the strip out and reinstatement works, we know through experience that at least one month would have been saved through fewer touch points, better communication and reduced time and cost, by overlapping the drying and reinstatement phases.
As often happens in a surge event interim payment requests were not processed quickly enough. A request on 30th June wasn't paid until mid-August, placing strain on the contractor's cashflow and their ability to meet the project timelines.
Another area where things could definitely have been improved is flood resilience planning. The home owners decided that they wanted to make their home more flood resilient for the future. But it was only during the reinstatement works that they realised this was possible.
The tendered scope of works was prepared on a like-for-like basis. No obvious thought was given to flood resilience measures by anyone involved in the claim.
The home owners decided they wanted flood doors in their property. To facilitate this the insurer offered a cash settlement for the doors from the scope of works. To gain additional funds it was then left to the home owners to apply to the council for a £5,000 grant, which added to the delay and stress. Not only did the home owner have to make up the shortfall in extra cost for the flood doors, but the grant took time to come through meaning the doors weren't installed until after the reinstatement works were completed.
There were other flood resilience measures that could have been done such as raising sockets up the wall. Surely such measures would be sensible in a property situated near a river and a canal that has flooded twice and is likely to do so again, causing more indemnity expense for the insurer and stress for the customer.
This case is a good example of the disjointed approach that the recently published Property Flood Resilience Action Plan refers to (also known as the Bonfield Report). The Bonfield Report says:
> there is a disconnect between insurance reinstatement and resilient repair of properties…. loss adjusters and builders do not understand the benefits of resilient measures
> it is not clear that the insurance industry values property level resilience or incentivising people to have it.
Our experience certainly supports these statements and we are keen to work with insurers and loss adjusters to develop a coordinated and joined-up approach to flood claims, one that reinstates a property whilst also making it more resilient to floods in the future.
As the Bonfield Report says, a coordinated plan is needed with a complete change in attitude by everyone involved in property claims. But should the insurers be picking up the bill for the flood resilience measures as suggested by The Telegraph and the National Flood Forum?
Flood Re is essentially a reinsurance company, which means it enables insurance companies to insure themselves against losses because of flooding. Unlike other reinsurance companies it is a not-for-profit fund, owned and managed by the insurance industry, and it has been designed to address a specific issue for a specific period. It's also publicly accountable.
Flood Re's aim is to promote the availability and affordability of flood insurance to those who own and live in properties in flood risk areas. Establishing it required Government legislation and it is the first scheme of its kind anywhere in the world.
The insurance industry itself paid the set up costs of Flood Re, which were over £20 million. So already the insurance industry has spent money to help home owners at risk of flooding. Individual insurers are hoping to save money on future flood claims by pooling risk.
You could argue that insurers achieve the same result by paying for flood resilient measures when reinstating a property – a small expense up front should save money in the long run. But where does this stop? You could argue that by paying for a poorly maintained roof to be repaired the insurer will save money on storm claims in the long run too. Or how about replacing dishwashers for home owners every seven years to prevent escape of water claims in the future? Or paying for burglar alarms to be fitted to reduce theft claims? Where does an insurer draw the line? How do you balance reducing indemnity spend in the future with encouraging home owners to look after their homes and minimise the risk of claims themselves? In this highly competitive industry how do you stop a home owner from simply switching insurer at renewal time once the insurer has paid for improvements or flood resilience measures? No wonder most insurers are unwilling to pay the extra for property resilience measures.
Home ownership comes with obligations, not least to preserve the home. A home owner is responsible for maintaining his home and the insurer is responsible for reinstating a home back to its pre-claim condition. The problem with flood risk homes is that they are usually at risk through no fault of the home owner – either the home was built in the wrong place, climate change has caused more rain or the Government has stopped investing in flood defences.
Communication and behavior change
The Action Plan does not say that insurers should be funding flood resilience measures. However it does say that those involved in property insurance need to do more to help home owners in flood risk properties. The Report has identified changes in behaviour that are needed to improve the uptake of property level resistance. Not surprisingly, much of this behavioural change is needed in the insurance industry:
> Recovery – there is a disconnect between insurance reinstatement and resilient repair of properties. The report says that loss adjusters and builders do not understand the benefits of resilient measures, and that immediately after a flood, parties involved are not in a position to think about resilience measures.
> Insurance industry buy-in – it is not clear that the insurance industry values property level resilience or incentivising people to have it. This is supported by the results of the BIBA survey. There are questions over its effectiveness amongst insurers and builders, and this needs to be addressed.
> Community understanding – if flood resilience measures were viewed as a "social norm" similar to smoke detectors for example, flood resilience measures would be more common.
In our view, once a flood has happened, a better service and more support needs to be given to home owners from the start. From the moment a surveyor or loss adjuster arrives on site, the home owner should be given information about how to reduce flood risk in the future – from the range of property flood resilience measures available to the grants that can be secured.
The reinstatement works should include planning for the installation of flood resilience measures whether funded by the insurer or not. And the claims management process should include support and help on securing the appropriate grants and providing access to experts who can advise on the best measures to be put in place.
And even before a flood takes place insurers should be contacting home owners at risk of flooding to offer advice and support to minimise the impact of floods in the future.
A complete property flood resilience solution
Insurers need to find a way to improve the uptake of property flood resilience measures by home owners. The MA Group is keen to work with surveyors, loss adjusters, contractors and insurance clients to help improve the uptake amongst customers. We think that the following actions and behavioural changes are needed:
> Early identification of a need at the surveying, or even FNOL stage,
> Training for claims handlers, contractors, surveyors and loss adjusters,
> Simple risk analysis to understand the risks of any individual property flooding again,
> Access to accredited flood resilience materials and installers,
> Information for home owners on available grants and support in applying for them at the start of the claim,
> Avoidance of further supply chain fragmentation,
> Better surge planning to ensure that all parties are capable of delivering the proposition without affecting customer service,
> Strong co-ordination of all parties involved with collaboration designed to create a seamless flood reinstatement and resilience measures installation process.
If you would like to work with us on delivering a new flood claims process to your customers please get in touch.
We can provide a completely joined up service for flood claims and can build in managing flood resilience measures all through the supply chain.
Our validation and surveying company Virtus Validations, can identify the need for flood resilience measures at the first visit on site. Our surveying business has the ability to provide home owners with information about flood resilience measures and grants at the surveying stage so all parties can start to plan effectively.
Dan Ashton, MD of Virtus Validations says:
"As a new business we are perfectly placed to try new things. We look forward to supporting our clients and their customers who want to install flood resilience measures and can work with the contractors to develop a scope of works that accommodates the home owner's plans."
Our Cipher Professional team can project manage the more complex flood claims and ensure that installation of flood resilience measures are incorporated into the schedule of works and planning, working with contractors, loss adjusters and insurers.
Neil Foster, Head of Cipher Professional, says:
"Tailored repair schemes can be developed to effectively manage flood claims and flood resilience measures. Shared surge and capacity planning as well as project managed service solutions of all policy aspects will ensure consistency for all clients and customers"
*Rotimi Joseph, David Proverbs, Jessica Lamond, Peter Wassell, (2011) "An analysis of the costs of resilient reinstatement of flood affected properties: A case study of the 2009 flood event in Cockermouth", Structural Survey, Vol. 29 Issue: 4, pp.279 – 293.


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Both the Rainier and the Arts & Allied Health buildings are eco-friendly and have earned gold certification by LEED for environmental accountability and sustainability. They have become a part of the college's curriculum and increased focus on environmental sustainability.
The Pierce College Science Dome is a 58-seat domed visualization theater, the only one of its kind in the South Puget Sound region; it's used for classes and is available for pre-K-12 class visits.
GCCC's online education program, eduKan Online University, belongs to a consortium of colleges that allow for transfer of online course credits.
The college's Business and Industry division offers a wide array of career training and enhancement courses e.g. Cyber Security for Managers, Media Buying Strategies and Sustainable Energy, Improving Email Promotions and Going Green.
The William Inge Center for the Arts offers a chance for ICC students to work directly with professionals in theatre. Named after famous playwright and alumni, William Inge, the center presents an annual Inge Festival: a four-day festival in which students and community residents attend workshops and plays and tour historical sites that were part of Inge's childhood.
ICC has athletic programs on campus including football, volleyball, men's/women's soccer, men's/women's basketball, women's softball, baseball, and golf.
ICC's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for junior colleges, ranked in the top 100 out of 1,100 active chapters. Independence Community College ranked #21 in the CNN Money listing of top community colleges in 2012.
The college's S.T.A.R.T. and TRIO programs provide many resources to help CCC students succeed academically. CCC's Community Learning program, specializing in corporate development and professional courses, offers a six-module Leadership Academy.
The school's Life Long Learning program includes courses such as Beginning Japanese, Bouldering, Fly Tying and Beginning Flamenco. Instruction is available through on-campus, online and interactive TV (ITV) courses.
CCC's Small Business Development Center, a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, offers a series of monthly workshops on business basics and offer specialized workshops throughout the year.
Under the distinguished CCC2NAU program, Coconino Community College partners with Northern Arizona University and 16 other colleges to manage transfer needs to a four-year college. The CC2NAU program earned several awards including a 2012 Lee Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award, a 2012 Outstanding Institutional Advancement Advising Program Award from the National Academic Advising Association, and the Arizona College Access Network's 2011 Pathways to Postsecondary Education Award.
SKCTC also offers workforce courses in a variety of fields including: Commercial Driver's License (CDL), Kentucky Safety Training Institute, Kentucky Coal Academy, Drinking Water Treatment, and Mining Career and Technical Training.
The Southeast Kentucky C&T College is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). The community college was named a 2013 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence.
The college offers 1,500 classes per semester in 70 disciplines, including a broad variety of transfer majors for a bachelor's degree and programs that lead to associate degrees and certificates of achievement. Moorpark College offers occupational majors geared to local and national employment needs and trends. Also, the college has one of the country's most successful community college speech teams.
Moorpark College partnered with nearby Oxnard College in establishing the Camarillo Center, located on California State University, Channel Islands' campus. The center, an 8,000 square foot bio-manufacturing facility, houses the Instructional Biotechnology Program.
The High School at Moorpark College awards dual college and high school credit to local junior and senior high students and the college participates in the Foster Youth Success Initiative to support foster youth in their educational pursuits. Moorpark's "Desire2Learn" program offers online courses to students. Each summer, the college presents a Jr. Safari Summer Camp for kids aged 7-13.
Clarendon College has an annual enrollment of 1500 students. Although most of CC's students come from the local region, the college has an impressive diversity of students, including international students, despite its small size.
Clarendon has a solid athletics program. Intercollegiate teams at CC include baseball, softball, men's/women's basketball, men's basketball, volleyball, cross country, golf, cheerleading, rodeo, meats judging, livestock judging, and ranch horse team. Clarendon's campus life is active with many students clubs and organizations e.g. Drama Club, Multicultural Club, College Choir, Block and Bridle, Rodeo Team, White Caps.
Beyond its GED preparation courses, the school's Adult Education program offers the WAGE™ Program through which potential employees can earn state recognized certificates: Employability, Industrial, Clerical, Bank Teller and Customer Support I and II.
The school's Continuing Education program provides online courses and, in collaboration with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education of the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Care Orientation Training (CCOT). The CCOT course is the first step towards obtaining a Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate.
College of the Ouachitas is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). The college was named a 2013 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence.
The school's facilities –the Krause Center for Innovation, Japanese Cultural Center, Observatory, Bamboo Garden & Azumaya Meditation Pavilion, Robert C. Smithwick Theater and Dental Health Clinic – are well utilized by the local community.
The average student enrollment is 18,000, with a rich cultural diversity. According to Community College Week in 2001, Foothill had the 12th highest population of international students of all community colleges in the U. S. and its English as a Second Language (ESL) program allows foreign students to earn a two-degree and prepare for a four-year college. Foothill College's 62% transfer rate is the best in the state of California.
Northeast Iowa Community College's distance learning courses include online courses, courses in a two-way, interactive fiber optic network called Iowa Communications Network (ICN), and hybrid options.
NICC's Business and Community Solutions offers an array of non-credit courses for individuals and customized on-site training for local businesses.
The college named a 2011 Finalist with Distinction in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence. The college ranked #63 in the CNN Money listing of top community colleges in 2012.
The college's Business & Industry Services provides a wide range of professional development seminars and continuing education training.
Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #10 in the Washington Monthly 2010 ranking of America's 50 best community colleges list and named a 2013 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence.
To assist students in successful completion of their courses, Kaskaskia's Student Success Center offers tutoring, academic workshops, testing and learning assessments and career resources.
Kaskaskia College's athletic programs include men's/women's basketball, men's/women's golf, women's softball, volleyball, cheerleading, dance team, cross country, men's/women's soccer, men's baseball, and men's/women's tennis. In 2013, The KC golf team finished 4th overall in the Region XXIV Tournament.
Student enrollment runs 6,000 annually, with 4,000 of those full-time students. 24% of SWTJC's students receive their courses via online, interactive video and the Virtual College of Texas. Online and videoconferencing instruction are offered at all of SWTCC's campuses.
SWTCC's Local Articulation program is a partnership between area high schools, local businesses and SWTJC. By offering six different study programs, high school students can earn free college credit towards an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree at SWTJC.
The school's academic programs include Business, Criminal Justice, General Studies, Computer Science, Engineering, and Teaching.
Workforce Training programs include Emergency Medical Technician, K-9 Handler, Lineman Training, Nurse Aide, and Real Estate. The college is a member of the South Texas Club Sports League (STCSL), which consists of teams from Alamo Colleges and from two-year colleges not associated with any other athletic leagues. SWTCC competes in women's volleyball and men's/women's basketball.
Annually, the college presents its SWTJC Creative Arts Contest. Winners in ten age divisions and ten literary and visual art categories receive modest cash prizes at the school's annual awards ceremony.
The college named a 2011 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence.
The Mott Community College Men's Basketball team won the 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2012 national NJCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship games. They were the division runner-ups in 2001, 2004, and 2011.
Mott Community College named a 2011 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence and listed among the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers in 2011 by Community College Week.
In 2010, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) named MCC's president, Dr. M. Richard Shaink, as this year's best community college president in North America (covering American states and territories as well as Canadian provinces and territories).
Linn State's Business and Industry Department provides customized training to companies throughout Missouri, helping employers build a skilled workforce.
MGCCC's Volunteer and Service Learning Center (VSLC) of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College provides student education and career-relevant experience through community service and civic responsibility.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College listed among the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers 2011 by Community College Week. The college named a 2011 Finalist in the Aspen Institute's Prize for Community College Excellence.
Washington County Community College (WCCC) is located in Calais, Washington County, Maine, overlooking the St. Croix River; it's in a rural area on the border between the United and Canada. WCCC is one of seven colleges in the Maine Community College System. Washington County Community College has a general enrollment of 500 students.
Associate's degree credits may be transferred to a four-year university and count towards completion of the first two years of their bachelor's degree. MaineStreet is a listing of transferrable courses that fall within the articulation agreements with colleges within the Maine College System.
The school offers a liberal arts program for students interested in obtaining a bachelor's degree at a four-year school. Northland Community & Technical College also provides a wide array of technical programs. The college provides over 100 career programs and degree options.
Northland Community & Technical College's largest programs include practical nursing; liberal arts; sales, marketing and management; aviation maintenance technology; associate degree mobility nursing; criminal justice and law enforcement.
Coastal Carolina Community College's 64/65 credits of coursework are designed to parallel freshman and sophomore years at four-year colleges and universities.
Coastal and University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) have an articulation agreement guaranteeing Coastal Carolina Community College's two-year degree graduates who maintain at least a "B" average begin as juniors at UNCW. Additionally, Coastal, UNCW, Onslow County Schools, and Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune have developed a partnership to offer "2+2" teacher training for elementary education.
The school's Division of Continuing Education serves more military personnel than any of the other fifty-seven community colleges in the state. The school's Customized Training Program provides education and training opportunities for local businesses and industries. Coastal Carolina Community College's Continuing Education Program focuses on licensure & certification courses for a wide variety of professional and technical careers.
Normandale Community College, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, serves the communities of the southwestern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region and it's a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system.
Normandale's Continuing Education program offers a full set of courses for professional enrichment e.g. New World of Work, Microsoft Office 2010 and personal learning, Foreign Languages, Feng Shui & Sound Therapy. Additionally, Normandale offers organizational training e.g. Agile, ScrumMaster, and Six Sigma training and it also develops specialized courses customized for local business and presented at the college, at the business location or online.
The Transition Center supports students and is home to the Women's Resource Center, Adult Student Services, Family Resources and Student Engagement Programs.
The college's Public Safety Training Complex, opened in 2010, houses its public safety programs such as Criminal Justice, Fire Technology, Correctional Science, Homeland Security, Police/Fire/Academies and Public Safety in-Service.
Schoolcraft College has a strong student activity presence. The MacGuffin, is a national literary magazine published from Schoolcraft College and The Schoolcraft Connection, the school's award winning student newspaper continues to garner journalistic praise.
In 2009, the Women's Basketball team won their second NJCAA Region 12 District H Title.
To serve local families, the school's "Kids on Campus" program offers classes for children over the weekends during the fall, winter, and spring semesters.
To serve local businesses and industry, the college's Business Development Center includes the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC), the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), and Workforce Training Solutions.
5. Research and compare the stats on the schools you are most interested in: the college's graduation rate, transfer rate, "success" rankings based on various surveys.


I live in the US (NY State) and would like to starting investing in stocks that generate monthly dividends. Any advice on a course or book for a beginner? Any advice would be appreciated.
Re: Advice for a newbie.
Monthly payers are rare. Is there a reason you want to focus on this niche area of the market?
Also consider What You Don't Want to Hear About Dividend Stocks | Meb Faber Research - Stock Market and Investing Blog and many similar articles/discussions.


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Has the West capitulated to Putin?
A monument to Putin
2015/02/19 - 13:13 • Featured, International, More
Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine and the West's failure to stand up to him shows what can happen when there is "a world-class hooligan without a world-class policeman," Vadim Zaydman says, a horrific situation that may continue for decades if Putin remains in office and the West remains in the state where it is now.
Everyone is familiar with what happens when there isn't an effective police force in one or another city: the worst emerge and impose their will on the innocent. But that situation has now spread to the world as a result of Putin's actions and the unwillingness of the Western powers to force him to live according to the rules.
And they are well aware of something else: what will stop hooliganism when it first appears is relatively small compared to what will be necessary to do the same when the hooligans have gotten away with their crimes and assume that they will be able to continue to act with impunity.
For 15 years, the West has deluded itself about the nature of Putin, hiding behind the question "who is Mr. Putin" as if it were not clear to the unaided eye as a result of his actions in Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine what kind of a criminal he is and why stopping him will be ever harder, the commentator says.
Had the West taken a hard line against Putin after he invaded Georgia, he wouldn't have seized Crimea. Had it imposed the kind of sanctions now in place immediately after his Anschluss of the Ukrainian peninsula, he wouldn't have expanded his aggression into eastern Ukraine. And tragically, it appears this is not the end.
"Ukraine has been betrayed as at one time Georgia was betrayed," Zaydman says. Not only has the West refused to live up to its responsibilities under the Budapest Memorandum, but it is apparently going to continue to refuse to provide Ukraine with the arms necessary to effectively defend itself against the hooligan Putin.
"'The conflict in Ukraine does not have a military solution,' Chancellor Merkel and the other European leaders love to repeat as a mantra." But they are wrong: Ukraine will have a military solution. It will be Putin's military solution, one that the West has allowed by its inaction. And it won't be the last one if nothing changes.
Perhaps because the prospects of that are so horrific, many believe that Putin and/or the West will change. But Putin has been remarkably consistent: he uses force whenever he thinks he can get away with it; and the West by its failure to oppose him with force has allowed him to assume he can get away with ever more of it.
Or such optimists have assumed that things will change because Putin will leave the scene or because the West will come to its senses. But there seems to be little prospect of either. An article in "Vedomosti" suggests that Putin could be in power for another 30 years, wreaking havoc on the world all that time.
And Vytautas Landsbergis, the Lithuanian leader who knows more than a little about Moscow's willingness to engage in criminal activities when the West refuses to oppose it, suggests the current situation provides little basis for optimism and much for fear.
Landsbergis says that the West is now "so stupid" that Putin doesn't have to try to "stupefy it." Western leaders won't even challenge Putin's assertions that Russia isn't a participant in the war in Ukraine, let alone do something about it. Indeed, one has to ask whether the West has already "capitulated" to him.
The West now is "afraid to respond to Russia, and if that doesn't change," the Lithuanian leader points out, "Russia will be able to continue to behave badly in Ukraine and later in other neighboring countries." Indeed, he says, the West is so afraid that it doesn't even want to impose more sanctions, let alone do something more effective.
There is a solution, he points out. "How does one overcome fear? By not being afraid. To be afraid is a defeat and a capitulation." And Landsbergis cites the words of US President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks: "they've attacked us and we must respond because if we are afraid to do so, the terrorists will win."
Tags: Featured, international, Putin, Russia, the West, Western leaders
» Featured, International, More » Has the West capitulated to Putin?
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
A 200-lb black bear was caught roaming University of Tennessee's campus
If you think the scariest thing on campus is your grades, you haven't been to the University of Tennessee.
A 200-lb black bear was spotted roaming around the Knoxville school grounds early Sunday morning, leading university police to call the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) for help.
When wildlife officials caught up with the bear, they found him stuck inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium, home of the Volunteers baseball team. (The school's out for winter break.)
The state agency announced their unusual find in a Facebook post.
Sgt. Roy Smith and Officer Jeff Roberson of the TWRA quickly tranquilized the bear, the agency said. UTPD officers assisted in the safe removal of the bear.
But don't worry, the bear wasn't hurt. In fact, it's already been released in the Foothills Wildlife Management Area in Blount County, TWRA said on Twitter.


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text:
import * as constants from 'modules/constants'

const initialState = {
  prosthesesOptions: [],
  totalCost: 0
}

export default function reducer (state = initialState, action) {
  switch (action.type) {
    case constants.FORM_RESET:
      if (action.payload.section === 'requestPreApproval') {
        return initialState
      }
      return state
    case constants.SEARCH_PROSTHESES_SUCCESS:
      console.log('===> SEARCH_PROSTHESES_SUCCESS', action.payload)
      return {
        ...state,
        prosthesesOptions: action.payload.prosthesesNames.items
      }

    default:
      return state
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


For college students who thrive in social, people-focused environments and love putting technology to work, the banking world is full of opportunity. On May 21-25, 2018, a select group of students will go inside 4 major banks at CT Insurance & Finance Service's Banking Boot Camp in Downtown Hartford. Hosts and sponsors Bank of America, People's United Bank, United Bank and Webster Bank will deliver an immersive career advancement experience. CT IFS is proud to partner with the Host Banks, Connecticut Department of Banking and Connecticut Bankers Association on this workforce development program. Student application deadline is next Friday, April 20, 2018.


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Austin Digital Jobs
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Resolutions are not the best way to keep moving forward
(POLITICS) The NAR and HUD plan to work together to protect the most vulnerable people who want to buy homes. It looks like a pretty solid plan.
As we all embark on our New Year's resolutions, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is making its own changes. This week, NAR leadership met in Washington where they unanimously passed a Fair Housing Action Plan, invigorating a commitment to provide Americans with fair housing opportunities. These members then met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and other senior department officials to discuss the new plan and the issues surrounding fair housing.
The unfairness of fair housing is nothing new. In 2016, twelve percent of the discrimination complaints submitted to the HUD were based on familial status, raising complex issues proxying for racial discrimination and/or LGBTQIA individuals and families. The NAR has taken steps to crack down on discrimination by realtors, however, landlords don't have the same repercussions at the federal level.
Per the recent meeting, the NAR and the HUD will work together to reinforce the new plan, ACT, to highlight (A)ccountability, (C)ulture Change, and (T)raining for 1.5 million REALTORS® (realtors licensed by the NAR) to uphold fair housing for all Americans. In a NAR press release further commitments in the plan are as follows:
•	Ensure that state licensing laws include effective fair-housing training requirements and hold real estate agents accountable to their fair housing obligations;
•	Launch a Public-Service Announcement Campaign that reaffirm NAR's commitment to fair housing, and how consumers can report problems;
•	Integrate fair housing into all REALTOR® conferences and engagements
•	Explore the creation of a voluntary self-testing program, in partnership with a fair housing organization, as a resource for brokers and others who want confidential reports on agent practices so they can address problems;
•	Create more robust fair housing education, including unconscious-bias training, and education on how the actions of REALTORS® shape communities.
•	Conduct a national study to determine what factors motivate discrimination in sales market.
•	Profile leaders who exemplify the best fair housing practices and workplace diversity.
•	Develop materials to help REALTORS® provide consumers with information on schools that avoids fair housing pitfalls.
We can hope that with new energy between both the NAR and the government, Americans will find some relief in the housing market entering into 2020.
Related Topics:NARpoliticsReal Estate News
If the Secure Act passes, your retirement accounts will be SO much better off!
Staff Writer, Allison Yano is an artist and writer based in LA. She holds a BFA in Applied Visual Arts and Minor in Writing from Oregon State University, and an MFA in Fine Art from Pratt Institute. Her waking hours are filled with an insatiable love of storytelling, science, and soy lattes.
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(POLITICS) The Secure Act is the biggest change to the American retirement system in over a decade. Here's what it means for you and your family.
The steady stream of impeachment related news has made it difficult to hear about anything else is going on in D.C. these days. Something you may have missed is the passing of the Secure Act, a new bill which aims to get more Americans saving for retirement and increasing the amount they are able to save.
The Secure Act stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act. The Secure Act was introduced as part of the government's year-end spending bill. The bill has already been approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It will now go to the president for the final signing into law.
Experts have been warning Congress for years that Americans are ill equipped for retirement. About a third of U.S. adults have never had a retirement account. The Secure Act is bringing a slate of changes to current retirement contributions that are aimed at changing this trend.
The Secure Act aims to improve retirement in many ways including making it easier for small businesses to provide benefits for their employees. Small businesses will now be able to participate in multiemployer 401(k) plans. Businesses will also enjoy tax credits for participating in these plans and offering automatic enrolment to new employees. The hope is that less people will opt-out of a retirement plans or forget to opt-in altogether.
In order to improve retirement prospects for part-time workers, businesses will now be required to let long-term, part-time workers become eligible for retirement benefits depending on how many hours they've worked in a given year.
There are also changes to the way retirees can manage their plans. Previously, retirees needed to begin withdrawing from their retirement accounts immediately, but under the new bill they will be able to wait until age 72 which should ease some of the tax burden.
Smaller but notable changes include:
•	The maximum contribution age for retirement accounts has been repealed. This means workers will be allowed to continue contributing to their accounts past the age of 70.5.
•	Over 500 types of college savings plans will now allow funds to go toward student-loan debt.
•	Workers with a 401(k) plan will now be able to withdraw up to $5,000 from their account, penalty- free to cover the cost of having a child or adopting a child.
The Secure Act is the biggest legislative change to the American retirement system in over a decade.
Fighting fire with fire by building border wall out of hemp?
(POLITICS) Is there any irony in hemp being one of the most industrial plants? No on would think so except when it could be used to stop marijuana in "The Wall".
Alexandra Bohannon, Staff Writer
Show of hands, how many of you believe people eating tide pods was this year? Seems at least five years ago, right? That's because 2019 was a humdinger when it comes to the pace of the news cycle. And due to that, you might have missed this little tidbit about The Wall, Steve Bannon and hemp, of all things.
After President Trump legalized hemp almost a year ago, this plant started sprouting up in farms across the country. According to Quartz, hemp experienced a planting surge of 368 percent in 2019 as compared to 2018 planting data. Of course, you can chalk that up to the explosion of the CBD industry. But there are other industrial uses for this hearty plant. Enter hempcrete and The Wall.
Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is reportedly enamored with hempcrete, a concrete compound made with 40 percent hemp byproducts. Bannon is on record telling Vice News that "I'm obsessed with the hempcrete. I think this plant has got tremendous entrepreneurial aspects to it, and it's innovative."
There's more evidence to suggest Bannon considered hempcrete for The Wall. After Bannon raised millions of dollars to build his own private border wall in May, he told Politico reporters that, "Do you understand the irony of using hempcrete to keep out marijuana?" That got us wondering: could there be a hempcrete border wall? Some analysts say that it could be possible, in theory.
"One million acres of hemp builds Trump's wall and $700 million buys the hemp, a pittance compared to overall construction estimates ranging from $15 billion to $70 billion," wrote Chris Bennett in reporting for Ag Web Farm Journal.
$700 million would be a huge boon for cannabusiness — that is if supply could keep up with demand. US Farmers have only grown a little under 130,000 acres of hemp this year. For a hempcrete wall to be even slightly feasible, farmers would have to massively step up supply OR import the crop from overseas. That doesn't gel well with Trump and Bannon's trade agenda, does it? Plus, the price point, while much better than non-hempcrete construction estimates, is still much more than the 22 million managed to raise during Bannon's GoFundMe effort this year.
Looks like without funding assistance from the feds and an incentive for farmers to grow more hemp, hempcrete border wall is just another pipe dream.
(POLITICS) ICE and CBP refuse to be forthcoming about their use of surveillance technology even as invasive as it is. The ACLU is not pleased.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is currently suing two U.S. Homeland Security agencies due to stingray controversy. Not to be confused with the sea creatures, the stingrays in question are a type of surveillance equipment – equipment that might very well be recording your information.
Stingrays are used to track cell-phones, collecting information on location, calls and even text messages. As you might suspect, this can come in very handy with investigations, but stingrays don't just collect data from criminals. In fact, a stingray can pick up information from every cell-phone within their radius.
Seems sketchy, right? Just wait, it gets worse; we actually don't know all that much about how stingrays operate. We do know the basics – stingrays mimic cell phone towers in order to trick phones into connecting to their network – but that's about it. This is on purpose: stingrays are sold directly to government agencies, which range from police departments to ICE, and come with strict non-disclosure agreements.
We still don't know the full extent of what these devices can do, or what agencies are doing with them.
To shine a light on this problem, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act to collect information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Unfortunately, two years have passed since this initial action and both agencies have continued to refuse access to documentation.
Which is why the ACLU is now suing both organizations.
The ACLU is hoping to find information on when/where the stingrays are being used across the United States, as well as how employees are primed to utilize the machines. It's possible that everything is above board, but without at least some transparency, there's a real risk that this equipment could be used to violate the rights of US citizens.
As of November 2018, the ACLU had identified the use of stingray technology in 27 states by 75 different U.S. agencies; it's a number that is likely to continue to grow. In order to fully hold these agencies accountable for their use of stingrays, we first need to have a clear understanding of the technology and practices surrounding them.
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