Catch Austin-based rap artist and vocalist Anastasia Hera at the Keyz Street Block Party on Sat. July 3, at Empire
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Emergency Order Issued to Restrict Movement of Deer from Breeding Facilities Where CWD has Been Detected
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has issued an “emergency order” to impose additional movement and testing restrictions on deer breeding facilities that are affiliated with six deer breeding facilities where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been positively detected. Existing rules already restrict the movement of deer from 264 sites in 95 counties that are directly linked to these CWD-positive facilities, but further measures are necessary given the gravity of this situation.
TPWD and Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) are addressing risks and improving management strategies to protect big game resources from CWD in captive or free-ranging cervid populations. Both agencies recognize the need for full cooperation and partnership among government agencies, deer breeders, private landowners, hunters, conservation organizations and the general public in managing CWD in Texas.
“This is a terribly unfortunate development that we are committed to addressing as proactively, comprehensively, and expeditiously as possible,” said Carter Smith, TPWD Executive Director. “The health of our state’s free-ranging and captive deer herds, as well as affiliated hunting, wildlife, and rural based economies, are vitally important to Texas hunters, communities, and landowners. As such, our primary objectives are to enhance testing at sites that received deer from affected facilities and avoid the unintentional release of CWD-positive deer. Along with our partners at TAHC, we will continue to exercise great diligence and urgency with this ongoing investigation.”
Officials have taken action to secure all cervids at the CWD-positive facilities with plans to conduct additional investigations for CWD. In addition, those breeding facilities that received deer or shipped deer to those facilities during the last five years are under movement restrictions and cannot move or release cervids until cleared by a herd plan. The additional measures included in this emergency order include enhanced testing requirements for facilities with close epidemiological ties to the CWD-positive facilities and antemortem testing of deer from all movement qualified deer breeding facilities prior to transfer to a release site. These requirements are necessary to further minimize risk of CWD spreading into Texas’ free-ranging white-tailed deer herd, and to protect the captive deer breeding industry.
“The TAHC is committed to working with TPWD and affected stakeholders and landowners to address this latest development in Texas’ CWD history,” said Dr. Andy Schwartz, TAHC Executive Director and State Veterinarian. “The TAHC will continue to use its veterinary and epidemiological expertise to facilitate and contribute to the state’s CWD herd management and surveillance strategies.”
“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and TPWD are deeply concerned about the gravity and the urgency of the CWD challenges now confronting us,” said Arch H. “Beaver” Aplin, III Chairman TPW Commission. “Please also know that the engagement and input from everyone interested in deer management will be important as we work together along with TAHC to try and arrest the spread of this insidious disease.”
“I am proud of the partnership between TAHC and TPWD and the dedication of the two agencies to address Chronic Wasting Disease in this state,” said Coleman Locke, TAHC Chairman. “Because of this collaboration, Texas has led the nation in CWD management techniques and will continue to improve the overall understanding of the disease.”
As the state veterinary diagnostic laboratory, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL), uses surveillance testing to help wildlife producers and wildlife/animal health agencies to ensure the health of species susceptible to CWD. With the expected increase in CWD testing, TVMDL, a state agency within the Texas A&M System, has committed additional resources to ramp up testing capacity.
“Working with TPWD, the Texas A&M System will use all of its resources to perform these tests quickly and efficiently,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp.
CWD was first recognized in the United States in 1967 and has since been documented in captive and/or free-ranging deer in 26 states and three Canadian provinces.
In Texas, the disease was first discovered in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer along a remote area of the Hueco Mountains near the Texas-New Mexico border and has since been detected in 228 captive or free-ranging cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer and elk in 13 Texas counties. For more information on previous detections visit the CWD page on the TPWD website.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease found in certain cervids, including deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family. CWD is a slow and progressive disease. Due to a long incubation, cervids infected with CWD may not produce any visible signs for a number of years after becoming infected. As the disease progresses, animals with CWD show changes in behavior and appearance. Clinical signs may include, progressive weight loss, stumbling or tremors with a lack of coordination, excessive thirst, salivation or urination, loss of appetite, teeth grinding, abnormal head posture, and/or drooping ears.
To date there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to humans or non-cervids. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend not to consume meat from infected animals.
Source: tpwd.texas.gov
WHO supporting South African consortium to establish first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish its first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub.
The move follows WHO’s a global call for Expression of Interest (EOI) on 16 April 2021 to establish COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hubs to scale up production and access to COVID vaccines. Over the coming weeks, the partners will negotiate details with the Government of South Africa and public and private partners inside the country and from around the world.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the full extent of the vaccine gap between developed and developing economies, and how that gap can severely undermine global health security. This landmark initiative is a major advance in the international effort to build vaccine development and manufacturing capacity that will put Africa on a path to self-determination. South Africa welcomes the opportunity to host a vaccine technology transfer hub and to build on the capacity and expertise that already exists on the continent to contribute to this effort.”
“This is great news, particularly for Africa, which has the least access to vaccines,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of local production to address health emergencies, strengthen regional health security and expand sustainable access to health products.”
The announcement follows the recent visit to South Africa by the President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, who said his country was committed to supporting efforts in Africa to scale up the local manufacturing capacity of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical solutions.
“Today is a great day for Africa. It is also a great day for all those who work towards more equitable access to health products. I am proud for Biovac and our South African partners to have been selected by WHO, as France has been supporting them for years,” said President Macron. “This initiative is the first of a long list to come, that we will keep supporting, with our partners, united in the belief that acting for global public goods is the fight of the century and that it cannot wait.”
Technology transfer hubs are training facilities where the technology is established at an industrial scale and clinical development performed. Interested manufacturers from low- and middle-income countries can receive training and any necessary licenses to the technology. WHO and partners will bring in the production know-how, quality control, and necessary licenses to a single entity to facilitate a broad and rapid technology transfer to multiple recipients.
The technology transfer hub will benefit from the Medicines Patent Pool’s (MPP’s) vast experience of intellectual property (IP) management and issuing of IP licenses. MPP is also assisting WHO to negotiate with technical partners and supporting in the governance of the hubs.
Biovac is a biopharmaceutical company that is the result of a partnership formed with the South African government in 2003 to establish local vaccine manufacturing capability for the provision of vaccines for national health management and security.
Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines is a biotechnology company that focuses on product development, bulk adjuvant manufacturing, and supply and distribution of key biologicals to address unmet healthcare needs.
The organizations complement one another, and can each take on different roles within the proposed collaboration: Biovac will act as developer, Afrigen as manufacturer and a consortium of universities as academic supporters providing mRNA know-how, and Africa CDC for technical and regional support.
The South African consortium benefits from having existing operating facilities that have spare capacity and because it has experience in technology transfers. It is also a global hub that can start training technology recipients immediately.
Other hubs in the pipeline
WHO’s April call for expressions of interest has so far generated 28 offers to either provide technology for mRNA vaccines or to host a technology hub or both. There have been 25 expressions of interest from low- and middle-income country respondents who could receive the technology to produce mRNA vaccines.
Over the coming weeks, WHO will continue the rolling evaluation of other proposals and identify additional hubs, as needed, to contribute to health security and equity in all regions.
Through the COVAX partnership, WHO will continue its assessment of potential mRNA technology donors and will launch subsequent calls for other technologies, such as viral vectors and proteins, in the coming months.
WHO is also hosting the Local production forum this week, to identify strategies to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in low- and middle-income countries for COVID-19 and other priority diseases.
Source: www.who.int
U.S. reveals plan for sharing 55 million vaccine doses globally
Those efforts come after organizations including the World Health Organization called upon wealthy countries to share vaccine doses with countries in need. The group has called the inequitable distribution of vaccines the biggest threat to ending the pandemic.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
DART to Operate on July 4 Holiday Schedule
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will operate on the following schedule in celebration of the July 4 holiday weekend:
Bus and light rail services will follow a Sunday schedule on Sunday, July 4, and Monday, July 5.
The Trinity Railway Express will operate a normal Saturday schedule, July 3, and will not operate on Monday, July 5. Schedules for the TRE can be found at www.trinityrailwayexpress.org.
The Inland Port GoLink Zone will operate on a Sunday schedule (5:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. & 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) on Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5. There is no service in any of the other GoLink Zones.
DART’s Paratransit Services will run a Saturday schedule on Monday, July 5 and the Paratransit Scheduling Center will be closed. Customers may call Thursday, July 1, to book their trips through Monday, July 5, and Friday, July 2, to book their trips through Tuesday, July 6. Customers can also schedule, view and cancel trips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.DART.org/Paratransit.
DART’s Customer Information Center will be open on Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 214-979-1111 for trip-planning needs while the administrative offices and the Customer Care Center, which handles complaints, commendations, suggestions and Lost and Found, will be closed.
Route and schedule information for DART and the Dallas Streetcar is available at DART.org. TRE schedule information can be found at trinityrailwayexpress.org.
Source: dart.org
FUGITIVE: Aggravated Robbery Suspect David Cuadrado
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CRIME STOPPERS OF HOUSTON FUGITIVE FRIDAY
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New Monarch Butterfly Conservation License Plate Available for Texas Drivers
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be launching the long-awaited Monarch Butterfly conservation license plate on June 21 that will raise money to help conserve monarch butterflies and other native Texas, non-game, at-risk species.
“The monarch butterfly is a species that is beautiful and iconic in that it is one of nature’s great migration stories,” said John Davis, TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program Director. “This species migrates through Texas from Mexico in the spring making its way to the northern extremes of the U.S. and into Canada, then reverses that feat in the fall to overwinter in Mexico. This great migratory story is in jeopardy with the overwintering population experiencing steep declines in the last decade. By adding the monarch to our family of plates, we hope to increase support for this beautiful migration event and through our conservation efforts, brighten the future for this, and many other species.”
The public was invited to vote for their favorite design for the new monarch butterfly license plate last September and the winning design is on the new plate. The design shows one large monarch butterfly and three smaller ones seemingly flying off the plate as if starting their famous spring migration journey up north. The license plate design appeals to those who garden, enjoy wildlife watching, or simply appreciate the beauty of monarch butterflies.
“To save the monarch butterfly and its unique long-distance migration, we must promote initiatives that support the species and its conservation,” said Dr. Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, monarch outreach coordinator at the National Wildlife Federation. “At the National Wildlife Federation, we are proud to join the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in the fight to preserve the iconic monarch butterfly and bring awareness to the dangers it is currently facing.”
The TPWD Conservation License Plate Program has raised around $10 million in the last 21 years for wildlife and habitat conservation in Texas, according to program marketing lead, Janis Johnson. The 10 conservation plate designs include a horned lizard, largemouth bass, hummingbird, white-tailed deer, bluebonnet, desert bighorn sheep, and others. These plates benefit Texas fisheries and rivers, state parks, big game research and management, and non-game wildlife species management. All TPWD conservation specialty plates cost $30 a year, with $22 going to TPWD to support various programs and efforts. Plates can be purchased for vehicles, RVs/travel trailers, trailers, and motorcycles.
“TPWD uses conservation license plate funds to conduct research and management activities benefitting the state’s most at-risk species,” Davis added. “The conservation license plate program creates license plates that people enjoy and want to buy while also knowing their plate fee goes to the worthy cause of helping wildlife and plants in Texas.”
Learn more about monarch butterflies and other native, non-game species on the TPWD website. To buy a Monarch Butterfly plate or for more information on TPWD’s conservation license plates, visit www.conservationplate.org.
Source: tpwd.texas.gov
Port Houston Records Best May Ever
Port Houston continues to make waves with another month of double-digit container cargo increases through the Houston Ship Channel and its best May ever for container TEUs.
TEUs in May showed a 30% increase, with 288,127 TEUs compared to last year’s 222,250 TEUs for the same month. Year-to-date, Port Houston container terminals have recorded an increase of 8% over last year, with a total of 1,315,166 TEUs so far in 2021.
This comes after a record-breaking 2020 for TEUs through Port Houston. In 2020 Port Houston surpassed the 3 million TEU mark for the first time, with a total of 3,001,164 TEUs for the year.
General cargo also saw gains this month, contributing to a total tonnage increase of 8% this May over last. Steel imports, auto imports, and bagged goods imports were all up compared to Page 2 of 2 the same month last year. Notably, commodities like lumber, machinery, plywood, and bagged foods increased, indicating a comeback of industries hard hit by the pandemic.
Continued growth in cargo into Port Houston is expected, particularly containerized cargo. The new EC6 service from THE Alliance & Evergreen made its maiden call this week at Barbours Cut Container Terminal and will connect Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Korea to Houston. This new service into Port Houston represents increasing demand for Asia imports in Texas.
Port Houston continues its focus on the future and its people, building infrastructure, and expanding the Houston Ship Channel. As the advocate and a strategic leader for the Houston Ship Channel, Port Houston is driving the growth of the nation’s busiest waterway. The Houston Ship Channel Expansion – Project 11 is underway, breaking ground in May. The work will enhance safety and navigation along the Channel, which supports more than $800 billion in economic value to the nation.
Port Houston is the sixth-largest container port in the United States and the dominant container port on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Source: porthouston.com