DSG Insight

Celebrating Harvey Milk in Sacramento

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:06:00 -0700

On Wednesday, May 12th, The California Museum will hold the Kick-Off Event in Celebration of the 1st Annual Harvey Milk Day. DSG is proud of associates Tamara Torlakson and Andrew Bianchi, who are helping with the event in their spare time.

DSG has no formal ties to the Harvey B. Milk Foundation.

Scott Shalett & Jason Eberstein to Present in AHDI Webinar on March Advocacy Summit

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:31:00 -0700

On April 16, 2010, DSG Principals Scott Shalett & Jason Eberstein will present during an Association for Healthcare Documentation Integriy webinar on the the success of the AHDI/MTIA advocacy summit in March.

For more information, please see:

http://ahdionline.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-webinar-open-for-registration-2010.html.

Follow AHDI on Twitter.

Boston Globe: At State House, unions push for casinos while opponents call it 'sucker's tax'

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:51:00 -0700

The Boston Globe reported on a "raucus rally" in support of expanded gambling at the Massachusetts State House earlier today, in which unemployed Union workers from around the state donned "Casinos Now! Jobs Now!" shirts and spoke about how much a job would mean to them and their loved ones.

Dewey Square is proud of its efforts in helping to make this rally happen.

For more information on DSG's work in this capacity, please contact Lynda Tocci, Jennifer Willis, or send an email to boston@deweysquare.com.

La Plaza: Legendary Latino Educator Jaime Escalante Dies

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:39:00 -0700

La Plaza wrote on Jaime Escalante's death, as well as Edward James Olmos's plight to raise funds to cover Escalante's medical costs for Cancer treatment, in a recent blog post: Legendary Latino Educator Jaime Escalante Dies.

DSG Proudly Participates in Earth Hour

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:51:00 -0700

At 8:30 pm on March 27, Dewey Square Group will join hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world in turning its lights out to show its concern on climate change.

Earth Hour has become a global phenomenon since its inception three years ago by the World Wildlife Fund. Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 - involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents - and some of the world's most iconic landmarks, including:

Empire State Building
Brooklyn Bridge
Broadway Theater Marquees
Las Vegas Strip
United Nations Headquarters
Golden Gate Bridge
Seattle's Space Needle
Church of Latter-Day Saints Temple
Gateway Arch in St. Louis
Great Pyramids of Giza
Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens
Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London
Elysee Palace and Eiffel Tower in Paris
Beijing's Birds Nest and Water Cube
Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong
Sydney's Opera House

Turn your lights out on costly climate change impacts and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation by getting involved today!

California Ranked One of the Worst Lawsuit Climates in the Nation

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:20:00 -0700

West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, & California Ranked Worst Lawsuit Climates in the Nation

U.S. Chamber Launches National Advertising Campaign: 'Jobs, Not Lawsuits'

LOS ANGELES, CA—The U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) today released its survey ranking the states with the best and worst legal climates in the country. According to the survey, the states with the worst legal climates are California (46th), Alabama (47th), Mississippi (48th), Louisiana (49th), and West Virginia (50th). The states with the best legal climates are Delaware (1st), North Dakota (2nd), Nebraska (3rd), Indiana (4th), and Iowa (5th).

The survey also shows that a state's legal climate affects how and where a company does business and creates jobs. Two-thirds, or 67%, of the 1,482 corporate lawyers and executives contacted say a state's lawsuit environment is likely to impact important business decisions at their company, such as where to locate or expand their businesses. That is up 10% from just three years ago.

"With one in ten Americans out of work and record-high jobless rates in states like California, states can no longer afford to discourage new business and new jobs as a result of a dysfunctional legal climate," said Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. "States, particularly those at the bottom of the list, desperately need more jobs, not more lawsuits."

Harris Interactive conducted the survey Lawsuit Climate 2010: Ranking the States by telephone and online from October 2009 to January 2010. The respondents—general counsels and senior attorneys or executives in companies with annual revenues of at least $100 million—were asked to rank states for their overall treatment of tort, contract, and class action litigation. Among other elements, respondents also ranked states for the impartiality and competence of its judges and the fairness of its juries.

ILR also announced a new national advertising campaign called "Jobs, Not Lawsuits," which will include movie trailers to be shown on more than 300 movie screens throughout the country. The two-minute trailers feature the stories of businesses that were the subject of costly lawsuits substantially impacting their companies. In one story, an after-school youth basketball facility in Sacramento, California, was forced to close after legal bills from fighting a lawsuit drained the company's finances.

"The silver screen is the perfect place to tell these true stories of businesses that have been victimized by an unfair legal system," Rickard said. "We want people to see the real life consequences of these lawsuits."

ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

# # #

Estudio Cataloga el Clima de Demandas en California como Uno de los Peores en la Nación

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:13:00 -0700

Estudio Cataloga el Clima de Demandas en California como Uno de los Peores en la Nación

Cámara de Comercio de EEUU Lanza Campaña de Publicidad: “Trabajos, No Demandas”

LOS ANGELES, CA – Un nuevo estudio nacional encontró que el clima de demandas en California está entre los peores en el país, a la par con estados como Alabama, Luisiana y Virginia Occidental. Entre las jurisdicciones del área, los tribunales de Los Ángeles fueron mencionados entre los peores de la nación en términos de equidad jurídica, en segundo lugar después de Chicago, Illinois. Los tribunales de San Francisco fueron mencionados en sexto lugar entre los peores.

Los hallazgos de “El Clima de las Demandas en el 2010: Clasificando los Estados” fueron divulgados hoy por el Instituto para la Reforma Legal de la Cámara de Comercio de los EEUU (ILR, por sus siglas en inglés). El estudio, que llevó a cabo Harris Interactive, por teléfono y en línea, de octubre de 2009 a enero de 2010, clasifica a los peores cinco estados en términos de equidad jurídica: California (lugar número 46), Alabama (47), Mississippi (48), Luisiana (49) y Virginia Occidental (50). Dos tercios, o 67% de los 1,482 abogados corporativos contactados para este estudio, dijeron que es probable que el clima de demandas tenga un impacto en las decisiones de negocios importantes de sus compañías, tales como donde ubicar o expandir su negocio, lo que representa un aumento de un 10% en sólo tres años.

“California necesita más trabajos, no más demandas”, dijo Lisa A. Rickard, presidenta del Instituto para la Reforma Legal de la Cámara de Comercio de los EEUU. “Con uno de los índices de desempleo más altos en la nación, el clima legal de California está desalentando los nuevos negocios y los nuevos trabajos en el momento en que más los necesita el estado.”

El estudio de este año es la octava clasificación de los climas legales de los 50 estados desde 2001. Las personas que respondieron al estudio (consejeros generales, abogados o ejecutivos de alto rango en compañías con ganancias de por lo menos $100 millones) otorgaron a California clasificaciones especialmente bajas por la forma en que tratan los pleitos de clase, las demandas por responsabilidad civil o lesiones personales, daños y litigios contractuales.

Algunos datos sobre el sistema legal de California influyen en su baja clasificación. Por ejemplo:

Más de cuatro pleitos de clase se radican cada día que los tribunales superiores de California están en sesión. Los jueces de California (especialmente en Los Ángeles y en San Francisco) están dispuestos a certificar pleitos de clase que no se certificarían en otros estados.
En años recientes, bufetes de abogados de otros estados han abierto oficinas en California para radicar demandas en casos de asbestos que hubieran estado prohibidas en sus estados.

Rickard dijo que el clima legal del Estado afecta a todos los negocios, pero los pequeños negocios pueden resultar particularmente perjudicados. "La mayoría de los pequeños negocios operan con márgenes pequeños de ganancias. En una recesión económica, una sola demanda contra un pequeño negocio puede significar la diferencia entre sobrevivir y cerrar”, señaló Rickard.

ILR también anunció una nueva campaña de publicidad a nivel nacional llamada "Trabajos, no demandas”, que incluirá avances en películas que se presentarán en más de 250 pantallas de cine en California esta primavera. Será la primera vez que en California se utilicen avances en películas para mostrar publicidad sobre un tema.

Los avances de dos minutos de duración presentan las historias de pequeños negocios de California que fueron objeto de costosas demandas legales que tuvieron un impacto sustancial en sus empresas. En una de las historias, una escuela de baloncesto para jóvenes en Sacramento llamada “Basketball City” se vio obligada a cerrar después que las finanzas de la empresa fueron drenadas por las facturas legales para defenderse de una demanda.

“Los Ángeles es la capital del cine del mundo y la pantalla cinematográfica es el lugar perfecto para contar estas historias reales de negocios que han sido víctimas de un sistema legal disfuncional”, expresó Rickard. "Queremos que la gente vea las consecuencias reales de estas demandas."

ILR busca promover la reforma del sistema civil de justicia mediante actividades legislativas, políticas, judiciales y educativas a nivel nacional, estatal y local.

La Cámara de Comercio de los Estados Unidos es la federación de negocios más grande del mundo, que representa los intereses de más de 3 millones de negocios de todos los tamaños, sectores y regiones, así como cámaras de comercio estatales y locales y asociaciones de la industria.

www.uschamber.com # # # www.chamberpost.com

DSG Welcomes Courtney Cohen

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:40:00 -0700

DSG welcomes Courtney Cohen today, who joins us as an associate after spending the past three years at ABC's This Week. Courtney assisted This Week host George Stephanopoulos throughout the 2008 campaign cycle and served as a production coordinator for the weekly program. Prior to joining ABC, Ms. Cohen worked as a senior assistant at the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, CA. She is a graduate of American University in Washington DC and is originally from Los Angeles.

William A. Ramos Talks 2010 Census

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:35:00 -0700

William A. Ramos, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the US Department of Commerce, discusses the 2010 Census with Latinovations:

A Busy Week at DSG DC

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:03:00 -0700

DSG DC had an eventful week, and not just because of our annual March Madness brackets.

On St. Patrick's Day we celebrated the birthdays of Vida Benavides and Emma Christman and bid farewell to two of DSG's brightest young things: Michael Onyiego and Brian Cotter. Michael, an intern who joined DSG after graduating Georgetown, will move to Nairobi as a Voice of America correspondent. Not to be outdone, Brian, a communications intern, took a position as an analyst at Height Analytics.

And on a slightly more personal note - Angy Willis changed her name to Angy Dixon during a beautiful ceremony this week.

Congratulations to all!

What is "Political Standard Time"? Ask Tim Chambers.

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:03:00 -0700

DSG Principal Tim Chambers just posted "Political Standard Time" on the Huffington Post, noting that throughout history, "our understanding of time has always been deeply connected to our technologies," from sundials to church bells to what he deems 'internet time', the driving force behind "Political Standard Time". There are two main lessons to be taken from this new political time zone:

Politicos must watch the ongoing online conversations in realtime.
Political fortunes can fluctuate between the bad and good faster than ever before.

Check out the entire post at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-chambers/political-standard-time_b_501488.html

La Plaza Guest Blogger: Elsa Ramirez on Earth Day

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:17:00 -0700

Elsa Ramirez, Global Warming Program Field Director for The League of Conservation Voters and the Latino Desk at the Clean Energy Works Campaign, shares her love for our planet and calls on Americans to voice their support for comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation in "Celebrating Earth Day and what it means for the Latino Community".

Pew Internet Center Study: Internet 3rd Most Popular News Platform

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:36:00 -0800

The Pew Internet Center recently published a study on "Understanding the Participatory News Consumer", chock full of fun facts on our internet use. Here's a few that stood out to Dewey:

The internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio.
Six in ten (59%) get news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day.
33% of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones.
8% of internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and on topics that particularly interest them.
37% of internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or disseminated it via postings on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

To see the full study, please see: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx

KR Sridhar of Bloom Energy: 'Man to Watch'

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0800

Mike Allen named KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, a Man To Watch in today's Playbook:

MAN TO WATCH: Dewey Square Group's client, Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar, publicly unveils his "Bloom Box" at an event today in Silicon Valley with the backing of Al Gore, Colin Powell and a $400 million investment from Kleiner/Perkins megastar entrepreneur-investor, John Doerr. The Bloom Box is a silent, refrigerator-sized, fuel-cell power generator that will one day provide energy to your house from your own backyard - completely removing you from the power grid. Industrial-sized versions are already providing power to corporate powerhouses Google, eBay, FedEx and Wal-Mart.

60 Minutes also ran a piece on Bloom Energy this Sunday. Check it out here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml

Moore on Haiti

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:58:00 -0800

The March issue of The Source Magazine contains a special report on the earthquake in Haiti. It features DSG Principal Minyon Moore's moving account of her trip with President Clinton immediately following the devastating earthquake. She describes one scene as a "collision of severe poverty with the wrath of the earthquake". To read the full article, copies of The Source are available at news stands nationwide.

Gallup Poll: Asians are leaning Left,Liberal, Progressive and Democratic

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:11:00 -0800

Great news! Gallup released a poll today revealing that Asian-Americans tend to be more Democratic and much less conservative than the general population in their political views.

See the full study at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/125579/Asian-Americans-Lean-Left-Politically.aspx?CSTS=alert

Latinovation’s Cardona Moderates MALDEF’s Third Annual Latino State of the Union

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:20:00 -0800

Maria Cardona, head of the Dewey Square Group's Latinovations practice, served as the moderator for the 2010 Latino State of the Union: Third Annual Roundtable on Law, Policy and Civil Rights, sponsored by the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. The event drew more than 300 community leaders on a number of critical issues facing the Latino community.

Help Haiti

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:39:00 -0800

Dewey Square Group extends our thoughts and condolences to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. In an effort to assist those in need, we encourage you to consider a contribution to the relief effort. If you would like to go through the American Red Cross International Relief Fund, the donation page can be found at Donate Red Cross.

Johanson Receives Heather Award from Midwest Academy

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:17:00 -0800

The Midwest Academy honored Karin Johanson, a principal at DSG, with a Heather Award at its annual Midwest Academy Dinner held at the Hilton Washington last night. Established in 2004, the Heather Award is an annual honor bestowed upon a woman organizer who embraces the values and vision of the Midwest Academy and Heather Booth, a longtime civil and women's rights activist.

Congratulations Karin!

La Plaza Hits 20,000 Subscribers!

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:47:00 -0800

On June 26, 2009, DSG made the proud announcement that La Plaza, our Latinovations blog, marked its one year anniversary with 10,000 subscribers. We are proud to say that our subscriptions have doubled over the past six months!

To experience La Plaza and read what the leaders are reading, please see: http://blog.latinovations.com.