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So far there have been no reports of damage related to this morning's 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. This underscores why most Haitians are sleeping outside rather than take the chance of being caught in buildings that may be affected by aftershocks.

The Texas Social Innovation Initiative is a regional, state and national collaborative to stimulate social innovation throughout Texas.  The initiative has kicked off with a pilot project in North Texas and a partnership between the One Star Foundation: Texas Center for Social Impact, Root Cause, a nonprofit consulting firm in Boston and Dallas Social Venture Partners, a venture philanthropy model of impact investors.  Together, their efforts have leveraged more than $100,000 to the North Texas region to help identify, strengthen and amplify the efforts of social innovators throughout the region. On Wednesday December 9 at 10:30 CST, during the Governor’s Nonprofit Leadership Conference, Business Boomer's live webcast will feature a distinct panel of leaders to discuss collaborative efforts that stimulate socially innovative activities in order to help answer this  question: How will Sonal Shah, head of the White House Office of Social Innovation create a national agenda sparked by efforts on the ground that can spread across the country and line up with other successful global initiatives such as the United Kingdom’s Office of the Third Sector and Canada’s growing Centers for Social Innovation? WATCH...LEARN..ENGAGE Anne DeHaro, Public Affairs Director and host of Clear Channel Radio, will be facilitate a discussion and field questions from an online audience as she interview panelists Andrew ...

From the Office of the President Top News H1N1 Flu Guide Helping Community and Faith-based Organizations across the Country To help keep communities healthy during the flu season, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (Partnerships Center) led by Alexia Kelley and with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released an H1N1 Flu guide specifically targeted to help community and faith-based organizations.  Flu season is in full swing, and communities are finding innovative ways to spread awareness through community outreach programs. LINK Initial Results Show Pregnant Women Mount Strong Immune Response to One Dose of 2009 H1N1 Flu Vaccine Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.  LINK H1N1 Flu Resources for Parents/Educators ED has issued new guidance for school officials regarding the disclosure of personally identifiable information when addressing an H1N1 flu outbreak. See this and other guidance, videos, Q&As, and more.  LINK Green Jobs Grants, Seizing the Opportunity of a Clean Energy Economy Today the Department of Labor announced nearly $55 million ...

The Marvalus One has thrown out a doozie this week.    The only direction: I had a crush on.  There are a lot of candidates: Tracy Spenser, Shanice, Salt & Pepa, Dawn from EnVogue. But I had to go with the following: Vanessa Williams - Just For Tonight Who didn't love Vanessa Williams? She was probably my second celebrity crush after Vanity. The Jets - I've Got A Crush on You 12/13 year old Shawn had a crush on both of the fronts to this cheezy crew.  Not a bad little jam though, I've played it a couple of times this morning. HAPPY OSF!!!

My mom forwarded some healthcare commercials that she received in her inbox and I thought a few of them were pretty good.  Wanted to share 3 of them with the fam. How to Tell You need Healthcare Reform Choose the Public Option Spin

Texas A&M University-Commerce athletic director Carlton Cooper has named Darren Schneider as the head men’s track and field coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Schneider comes to A&M-Commerce after spending the last 10 years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. At UW-Whitewater, Schneider built the men’s program into perennial national title contenders. He guided the Warhawks to 17 top 20 national meet finishes in indoor and outdoor competition.  In 2004, UW-Whitewater accomplished its highest-ever indoor national finish with a second place performance at the NCAA Championships. In addition, the men’s program has placed third in the nation at the outdoor NCAA Championships in both 2004 and 2006. Also at UW-Whitewater, Schneider’s athletes have earned All-American honors 93 times including nine athletes have been crowned as individual NCAA Division III national champions. In 2002 and 2007, Coach Schneider was named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. In addition to his success on the track and field, he was instrumental in the development of the $15 million Kachel Fieldhouse that served as the 2004 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. He was also involved in the $7 million outdoor athletic facility transformation. Upgrades included a new track and field facility, which included a ...

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines announced today it is launching a first-of-its-kind social networking site, BlackAtlas.comSM, which combines the best features of a travel site with the power of social networking to create a dynamic online community for travelers to share experiences unique to the black community. User content will be anchored by travel video blogs and commentaries from author, filmmaker, television producer and world traveler, Nelson George, who will serve as the BlackAtlas.com travel expert at large. Unique travel content for the site is currently being collected at BlackAtlas.com. The site is scheduled to fully launch later this month. “I love to experience new cities, new food and meet new people. I love the thrill of discovering black culture everywhere, and so many African Americans feel the same way I do,” said Nelson George. “I want to entice more people to hit the road by giving them a different, and hopefully fresh, angle on travel through BlackAtlas.com.” Through blogs and discussion boards, users will be able to share travel stories, videos and photos and provide travel tips. They will also be able to rate or make recommendations of popular destinations and businesses, connect with other travelers with similar interests, answer questions ...

(Thanks in advance for your help Fam...Shawn P.) Dallas South News has launched a campaign to gain 100 new members before the end of the day on Friday. As most of you know, our mission is to utilize technology, social media, and journalistic principles to empower and inform underserved communities.  We are a nonprofit news organization that relies in part on contributions from our readers to help us cover important stories as they pertain to Southern Dallas. [caption id="attachment_714" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Carla Lacy interviews Carlton Cooper with Jerome Sheffield on the Camera"][/caption] This week we look to add 100 names to our current list of supporters.  We ask that anyone reading this post visit our Donation Page and join our cause by making a secure online contribution. While details of our membership plan are being worked out, those who sign up prior to Friday will receive free admission (first come first serve) to our initial "Meet the Editor" event next month (Guest to be announced soon). You may also mail a check payable to Dallas South News to our newsroom at 1409 S. Lamar Ave., Suite 609 Dallas, TX  75215.  No amount is too small (or too large). [caption id="attachment_716" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="DSN Intern ...