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News you can use |
Travis County’s I-Jury Web Site Named to Top Ten ListJustice Served, an alliance of court management and justice experts, named Travis County’s I-Jury Web site as one of the Top Ten Court Web sites in the nation. The Web site is administered by District Clerk Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza’s office.
The district clerk’s staff developed I-Jury as the first online impaneling system in the nation in 2002. “We knew we were pioneering a new era in jury management when we rolled out I-Jury almost six and a half years ago. I am thrilled to have all our efforts rewarded in this way,” Rodriguez- Mendoza said. “We designed I-Jury from a juror’s point of view, to streamline the process and minimize the impact of jury service. From the beginning, jurors responded, embracing I-Jury with an initial usage rate of 70 percent that now exceeds 90 percent.” According to Justice Served, other Top Ten Court Web sites include:
Contempt Of Court Process Among Judicial Seminar HighlightsA mock trial to explain the procedures that county judges should use to hold someone in contempt of court is among the highlights of the Nov. 19-21 Fall Judicial Workshop at Moody Gardens and Convention Center in Galveston. The presentation will analyze the basic legal rules for finding lawyers and others in contempt and cover the basic court procedures involved in making such a ruling.
In addition, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, an administrative workshop will present programs on emergency management preparedness and interlocal agreements. Sixteen hours of continuing education credit may be earned for attending the sessions Wednesday through Friday. No credit is offered for the administrative workshop on Tuesday. County judges interested in attending should request the Texas Association of Counties room block at Moody Gardens. Room rate is $85 plus applicable hotel occupancy taxes. Conference registration is available online by clicking on the TAC Education Center pull-down tab at www.county. org. 2009 Leadership Class Members AnnouncedThe TAC Leadership Foundation recently announced
the names of those emerging and veteran county officials
who have been selected to participate in the 2009 County
Leadership Class:
Information about the Leadership Class is available at the TAC Leadership Foundation Web site at www.county.org/ cms/leader. Help Requested: Tell Newly Elected Officials about SeminarsAs many experienced officials can testify, the first few weeks in public office can set the tone for a newly elected officeholder’s time as an elected official. To help ease the process of taking office, TAC is preparing a series of regional seminars across the state. “Preparing to Take Office” is a one-day workshop that explains helpful, basic laws and advice that apply to all county officials. A faculty of experienced county officials, TAC staff and other specialists will address several common problems that are particularly troublesome for new officials. The program also includes sessions on how to deal with employees and the public, as well as the importance of healthy relationships with other officials and organizations representing elected officials. Incumbent county officials who are aware of officeholders about to be sworn in within their counties are encouraged to let their new colleagues know about the seminars, which will be held:
Registration for the sessions is available by using the pull-down Education Center menu at www.county.org or by contacting the TAC Education Department at 800-456-5974.
NACo Creates Database for County Health and Wellness-Related Programs From skate boarding parks
to sidewalks, educational
awareness campaigns to
farmer’s markets, county
governments around the
country are trying to help
their residents – and especially
children – live healthier lives.
The programs are responses
to nationwide increases in
childhood obesity; national
data suggests that 25 percent
of children are obese, and that
those children are more likely
to become obese adults with
increased risk of diabetes, heart
disease, high blood pressure and
orthopedic disorders. In Texas,
health problems associated
with obesity not only decrease
persons’ quality of life, but they
also have an economic cost of
more than $10.5 billion a year,
according to the Texas Department of State
Health Services. Obesity and childhood
obesity are two of the greatest problems
facing the health care system.
To help counties brainstorm ideas for how to decrease childhood and adult obesity, the National Association Counties recently launched an online database at www. healthycounties.org/database. Counties that have recreational, educational, or infrastructural programs dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles can promote their initiatives via the database, and other counties can search the database to generate workable programs for their own communities. “Very often, county-led efforts to prevent childhood obesity go hand-in-hand with initiatives to support healthy populations and to create robust economies,” stated the association. Programs can focus on each of the varying causes or factors that contribute to obesity. Already, more than 100 entries have been added to the database. Some are policy-oriented solutions, like the one undergone by Clark County, Wash., commissioners, who approved a nutrition policy for county worksites, requiring that county facilities provide healthy food and beverage choices at county-funded meetings, trainings and events. Instead of cookies and donuts, the county now offers fruits, nuts, and other food that is either whole wheat or organic. Other programs are more costly and require sustained effort, but the rewards are plentiful. Commissioners in the area of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, sought out state grant funding to create a Rural Economic Development program. Among other tasks, the RED program promotes agritourism ventures, agricultural awareness and local farmers’ markets. The program also partnered with its state’s extension agencies to host pre-school and afterschool educational programs at the county’s libraries and other venues. Many of the programs are collaborations between counties, cities, school districts and non-profits, with county officials taking a leadership role in bringing entities together. For instance, officials in McKinley County, New Mexico, lead the efforts in creating a non-profit organization to build 40 miles of trails, including a rock climbing crag and raising funds to allow at-risk and low-income youth bicycle access to the trail system, among other recreational improvements to the area. Another brainstorming tool available to county officials is the Prevention Institute’s ENACT Local Policy Database, “an online resource of local policies that can improve opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity,” at www.prevententioninstitute. com/sa/policies. Besides its community health database, Prevention Institute also offers resources on tackling violence, traffic accidents, mental health issues and environmental concerns. County Photo ContestCounty officials and photographers have until Sept. 30 to submit their favorite county moment for consideration in the National Association of Counties’ 2009 Calendar. Digital photograph submissions must include the filename of the photo, the county it was taken in, the name of the photographer, a brief description of the subject, and a contact name and number. Photographs must fall into one of six categories:
For more information about the contest, visit the NACo Web site at www.naco.org. Registration Open for Investing ConferenceTAC’s Texas Public Funds Investment Conference offers training and education for anyone responsible for investing taxpayer dollars. Both advanced and basic tracks will be available and attendees may attend any session of interest. Professional speakers will present specialized topics including internal controls and risk, reviewing a bank’s financials, floating and variable rate securities, best practices in recordkeeping for arbitrage rebate, anatomy of a bond issuance, and the historical relationship between the bond market and the stock market. Registration for the conference is $125 before Oct. 27 and $150 after Oct. 27. Registration for the conference is included in the annual fees for Certified County Investment Officers, so they may attend at no additional charge. The conference satisfies the Public Funds Investment Act: Section 2256.008 and offers continuing education credit. For more information or to register, visit the TAC Education Center at www.county.org. |
“The small number of online services is more than offset by
their superb I-Jury functionality. Jurors used to endure mass calls
for impaneling, but can now do so online. Their customer base
choosing the Web over personal appearance is staggeringly high,”
stated Justice Served in its evaluation of the sight.
Among other topics to be presented at
the conventions are sessions to explore:
