As is usually the case, we know the name of the victim. But we need to remember who the perpetrator is as well. If he disappears from the conversation, the community appears to exist in a bubble.  Jesus Catalan is his name. Aliases: Brian Nanes, Luis Santiago.

Here are details of his capture: http://www.amw.com/fugitives/capture.cfm?id=69404

Please come to the press conference.

Attached is the agenda for the July 8, 2010 Commission meeting. Please note that this meeting is scheduled to end earlier than usual. The full Commission packet for this meeting will be posted to the Commission’s website http://www.hivcommission-la.info by COB Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

Thanks, Craig

Craig A. Vincent-Jones
Executive Director
Los Angeles County Commission on HIV
3530 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1140
Los Angeles, CA 90010
TEL 213.639.6714
FAX 213.637.4748

click on the link for the official Minimum Wage document

PACHA Says Sorry,
Announces Last Minute Public Comment Call for FRIDAY

Thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday for the first HIV PJA LiveBlog.

We started the conversation as people with HIV and other activists around the country while we waited on hold for the teleconference meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) , the top advisory body to President Obama on the epidemic. Its membership includes people living with HIV, and it also includes long-time allies of CHAMP and members of the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance.

The main item of business was passing a resolution that addressed the crisis in access to AIDS drugs, referencing the need for more (and more than one year) funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), and the need to accelerate expanded access to Medicaid coverage for people with HIV through the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA).

But halfway through the call, things went haywire when they open up the phone lines, unmuting everyone and then cutting everyone off abruptly and terminating the call! It was a disappointment to those who were scheduled to give public comment (only eight were allowed to begin with, but then only one got a chance to do it) and everyone else who wanted to chime in but was not allowed.

Seems like our homegrown first time liveblog ran more smoothly than the actual PACHA meeting, even though our servers crashed just 15 minutes before we went live!

People on the call were left confused and disappointed, and even angry that it was unclear if or how they could give comment. It didn’t help that the call itself started about 15 minutes into the one hour session…

Within minutes of the blog wrap-up, the HIV PJA got calls from HHS and the Office of National AIDS Policy, apologizing and asking how they could make this right. We asked them for an explaination in writing of what happened; for a reconvening of the meeting as soon as possible; and for all future PACHA meetings to be announced not only in the goverment-ese Federal Register but have additional plain-language announcements of what will occur, how the public can be involved, and all ways to get your input to PACHA.

We noted that PACHA Chair Helene Gayle never announced during the call that the public could submit comments to Melvin Joppy or otherwise explained the format for the call, which gathered the PACHA members on the phone but was also open to the rest of us as well, and demanded that this be rectified in future meetings.

Then today, PACHA posted on their website an apology and notice of a follow-up call two days from now – the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend! – but neglected to notify us, once again ignoring a vital channel of public information. The apology and details on the call follows. We will also let you know if the call is pushed back to allow more time for people to put it in their calendars….

But first, a few follow up points:

1) Here’s a recording of the PACHA Call itself.

2) The actual PACHA members lauded our blog, and are not responsible for the meeting’s faults:

If you go to the liveblog transcript on our site, you’ll see that multiple PACHA members joined us. We want to stress that they did not set up the meeting nor are they responsible for communications or technical difficulties. Thanks for participating, and for being open to public comment to PACHA, and for participating in public engagement on PACHA.

3) LiveBloggers prepare to use PACHA resolution for mobilization for US Treatment Access!:

Even as the resolution on drug access was passing, our LiveBloggers were springing into action. They started making plans to collect endorsements for the PACHA resolution as a mobilization tool – look for that in the coming days and get ready to accelerate action for universal AIDS drug access!

4) Public access to government processes affecting our lives is a human right and vital for HIV Prevention Justice.

Everyone has tech problems. Don’t we know it…

But we need to see a clear and sustained committment to openness, transparancy and public involvement from the leadership of PACHA. Holding a follow-up call on little notice, in the waning hours before a holiday weekend, is not the answer. Clear and timely public engagement that is consistent and truly accessible to the broad range of people living with HIV and their allies is necessary. This engagement includes not just listening but actually responding, working with the public to move forward on HIV prevention justice and other key issues in the domestic epidemic. As we prepare for the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), we demand a visible and measurable commitment to true public engagement as the NHAS moves forward.

Here is the PACHA apology and announcement:

Conference Call July 29th/Next Public Comment Conference Call July 2, 2010

Colleagues,

We deeply regret the technical meltdown that was experienced in the PACHA conference call yesterday, Tuesday, June 29, 2010. It was a very unfortunate and frustrating situation for everyone involved. Because the call was scheduled for only one hour and was devoted to addressing one agenda, we set aside 8 public comment slots. The 8 individuals who were slated to speak were the first to respond to the Federal Register notice. As many of you know or heard, Carl Schmid from the AIDS Institute was the only one of the 8 that had the chance to speak.

Clearly from the conversations that took place following the abruptly ended conference call and the many postings on blogs and discussions across chat lines it is apparent that many people would like to have the opportunity to give oral remarks for the record.

We have set up a conference call for Friday, July 2, 2010 from 2 PM until 3:30 PM EST. The conference call lines will be open for one and a half hours to permit anyone who wishes to offer public comments to do so at that time. Each presenter will be limited to 2 minutes to place their statement into record.

Call-in = 888-566-1019
Passcode = 5709402

To send written comments please email Melvin Joppy at Melvin.Joppy@hhs.gov with your name, affiliation, contact information and comments.

Most importantly, PACHA did unanimously pass the ADAP Resolution and we it is being sent through formal channels to Secretary Sebelius. To view the Resolution go here: http://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/policies/pacha/meetings/june-2010-resolution.pdf

The transcript of the call will go on the PACHA early next week.

Please stay tuned to www.PACHA.gov and www.AIDS.gov for news, blogs, and upcoming meeting announcements.

Highlights (or, rather, lowlights) include:

• The budget includes the Governor’s January proposal to eliminate all ADAP support from county jails.
• There is a proposed $32.7 million reduction to ADAP.
• Eliminate full MediCal coverage for immigrants who have lawfully resided in the US less than five years.
• Eliminate domestic and related services for IHSS recipients who have “less severe” impairments
• Reduce the monthly SSI grant for an individual
• Eliminate Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) and the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP)
• The complete elimination of CalWORKs by October 1, 2010.

5.6million allocation from HRSA. What is the breakdown again?

ADAP $4.7m

MAI $207k

Base $691.6k

“diversion communities” 9k

Are there any attempts to amend bill that would allow electronic reporting from other jurisdictions?

Not aware of any being prepared by author. That limitation is recognized. Very difficult for me to talk abt legislation when it is active.

Re CA care & prevention plans – what’s up?

CPG/OA Jointly developing integrated care & prevention plan. It’s really impossible to do good planning or programming with separate plans, but in terms of planning we need to do, we need to have a joint plan. Foremost charge of cpg.

Room for community input- but no details from michelle about what that means.