The San Antonio Clean Technology Forum Smart Grid presentation

date has been changed to September 16 from September 9.

 

I did not realize that Sep 9 was the Rosh Hashanah holiday .  I apologize for my regious ignorance,

mike

The San Antonio Clean Technology Forum is planning a Smart Grid presentation during a
luncheon on September 9, 2010.

This forum will be held in Southwest Research Institutes’ newest conference center that features some of the best Audio/Visual presentation equipment in the nation. 

 

Opening comments by:

Dr. Les Shephard – Executive Director, UTSA’s Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute

 

Our presenters will be:

Cris Eugster - Chief Sustainability Officer, CPS Energy

Corey King -  Manager System Security and High Reliability Software
Section Automation and Data Systems Division

Brewster McCracken - Executive Director, Austin's Pecan Street Project

 

Please mark your calendars now for this September 9 event.  The good news is that our topic, the presenters, and the venue are not to be missed.  The bad news is that seating is limited and we will very likely not be able to accommodate all interested participants.  So please plan to register early.

 

We will open our web site www.sacleantech.org for registration within the week.

 

 

A recent GE survey of U.S. consumers, conducted by StrategyOne, involved 1,000 people reached by phone nationwide. Among other things, it found that of those who are familiar with the term "smart grid," 80 percent believe it will help the country make better use of clean energy sources, 74 percent believe it will help them make better decisions about energy use, and 72 percent believe it will save them money.

 

 

Article 2. Hispanic chamber is moving to Pearl

 

New CPS Energy chief hired

By Vicki Vaughan and Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News   July 22, 2010

 

CPS Energy's new chief executive and president is Doyle N. Beneby Jr., who formally accepted the job Thursday after the CPS board offered it to him in a phone call.

Beneby, 50, is a 25-year veteran of the energy industry and is now president of Exelon Power and senior vice president of Exelon Generation. He will start at CPS on Aug. 1 and will succeed Milton Lee, who retires Sept. 30.

 

In a brief telephone conference after he accepted a formal offer from the CPS board, Beneby said he is “incredibly excited” about the opportunity to head the nation's largest municipal utility. He cited CPS' status as “a great company that has a great reputation” as a reason he pursued the job.

Beneby has spent his career in the energy industry with investor-owned utilities. He has held several leadership positions since he joined Exelon Corp., parent of Exelon Power and Exelon Generation, in 2003. He was promoted to his current position in May.

 

“I believe the skill sets I have are transferable to CPS,” Beneby said when asked about transitioning from investor-owned Exelon to muncipally-owned CPS. “And I understand there are high expectations for transparency at CPS, and I expect to exceed those expectations.”

And Beneby said he understand the importance of customer service, having spent more than half of his career in jobs that were directly related to serving customers.

 

Mayor Julian Castro, an ex-officio member of the CPS board, said, “Beneby's wealth of experience in the energy sector made him a highly qualified candidate. I believe he will serve the ratepayers well and do a good job of meeting San Antonio's energy needs.”

CPS Board Vice Chairman Derrick Howard, who headed the search committee, said CPS and Beneby agreed on a three-year contract that calls for him to receive base pay of $360,000 a year and a chance to earn incentive pay equal to his base pay if he meets certain goals. Half of the incentive pay, if awarded, will be deferred in the first two years of the contracts and paid in the third year.

 

CPS' hiring of Beneby ended months of speculation, as trustees secretly worked through a list of candidates from Korn/Ferry International, the consulting firm it hired to direct the search.

Four finalists, including acting General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, were interviewed in late May. The other candidates' identities were closely guarded by the board, which denied an open records request for release of the names from the San Antonio Express-News, arguing that releasing the names would put the utility at a competitive disadvantage. An opinion from the state attorney general is pending.

 

Chicago-based Exelon Corp. is one of the nation's largest power companies, with more than $17 billion in annual revenue. Its family of companies are involved in areas including energy generation, power marketing, transmission and energy delivery. Exelon Generation oversees a mix of fossil, hydroelectric, solar, landfill gas and wind generation sources, and it has the largest group of nuclear plants in the nation.

As president of Exelon Power, a business unit under Exelon Generation, Beneby is responsible for managing, operating, and maintaining roughly 8,000 megawatts of natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and solar generation in five states, including Texas.

 

Beneby said he is familiar with Texas as a result of generation units Exelon owns in Houston and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “And I have family in the Dallas area,” he said.

Beneby spent 17 years with Florida Power & Light. After a brief stint at Consumers Energy in Michigan, he joined Exelon.

In May, the American Association of Blacks in Energy, congratulating Beneby on his promotion to president of Exelon Power and senior vice president of Exelon Generation, called him “a trusted colleague, a confident leader, and an important role model to many.”

 

Beneby will face a number of challenges if he accepts the utility's offer, including steeply rising capital costs, decisions about future power generation capacity, reducing the carbon emissions of an aging group of power plants and the expansion of the utility's renewable energy portfolio undefined all while keeping rates affordable and maintaining CPS' high credit rating.

CPS briefly explored a partnership with Exelon in 2007 when the utility was first looking at options to increase its nuclear generating capacity. It ultimately chose to focus on the expansion of the South Texas Project, of which it already is a part owner.

 

In another near miss, Exelon could have been CPS' partner in that expansion, had the energy giant been successful in its attempt at a hostile takeover of NRG Energy a year ago.

CPS retains a 7.6 percent stake in the STP expansion, with NRG holding the rest. The proposed expansion is expected to receive crucial loan guarantees this year, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is on track to license the project by 2012.

Hispanic chamber is moving to Pearl

By David Hendricks - Express-News    July 22, 2010

The 81-year-old San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will move to the Full Goods Building at the Pearl Brewery campus next week from its decadelong home at the Alameda Building on Houston Street downtown, the chamber said Thursday.

Gov. Rick Perry will make a formal announcement of the move Tuesday afternoon during a news conference on small-business issues at the Pearl site.

 

The chamber will move July 29-30 to occupy about 4,000 square feet of Class A office space on the second floor of the Full Goods Building, space that already is furnished.

Complete article at: 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/hispanic_chamber_moving_to_pearl_99033949.html

 

 

Congratulations to Robert Puente and the SAWS staff for this significant

Regional Partnership agreement.  And thanks to the SA Express News for making the story front page headline news.

 

 

SAWS will tap into Carrizo Aquifer

By Colin McDonald – SA Express-News     July 14, 2010

GONZALES undefined By a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the board of the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District approved a permit for San Antonio Water System to pump 11,687 acre-feet of water a year from the Carrizo Aquifer.

SAWS has pursued the permit for a decade as it tries to make San Antonio less dependent on the limited availability of the Edwards Aquifer. The Carrizo will be one of SAWS' largest non-Edwards sources.

 

“Diversifying our local water supply is essential to the San Antonio region's long-term success,” Mayor Julián Castro said in a statement. “Today's announcement shows that working with our neighbors can help make this happen.”

The permit undefined enough to supply 40,000 households undefined allows SAWS to pump for 30 years, but renewal is required every five years.

 

While SAWS staff cheered the vote, the local residents who packed the Gonzales County Courthouse for the meeting did not.

“I don't really understand why we would risk our own water supply,” said Mark Ploeger, a local rancher and president of the Water Protection Association, which opposed the permit. “Because once it is gone, it's going to hurt.”

Complete article at:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/saws_gets_water_permit_from_gonzales_county_district_98379849.html

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LeBlanc-Burley penalized for being from San Antonio

Kathy Clay-Little – SA Express-News   July 16, 2010

According to Express-News columnist Greg Jefferson, CPS Energy interim General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley “most likely” will not succeed Milton Lee as CEO when he retires in September.

Based on Jefferson's article, Mayor Julián Castro, a CPS board member, has settled on another candidate. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the other candidates because, in spite of all the posturing coming from the mayor several months ago about transparency and the grandstanding replacement of board members in the interest of transparency, CPS Energy's illustrious board decided it is none of San Antonio's business who the CEO finalists were.

 

If it is indeed true that LeBlanc-Burley has hit yet another glass ceiling in advancing her career in San Antonio undefined she was almost summarily dismissed as a contender for the city manager position by the City Council of which Castro was a member in 2004 undefined it won't be because she hasn't demonstrated that she has the right stuff.

Complete article at:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/leblanc-burley_penalized_for_being_from_san_antonio_98542749.html

 

Using less energy is necessary goal

Express-News Editorial Board -     July 13, 2010-07-15

In the near future, CPS Energy customers will be armed with real-time information about electricity usage that can help them save money.

And by giving consumers the information, utility officials hope to reduce overall energy consumption.

The Express-News recently reported that smart meters will be arriving in San Antonio by the end of the year, and that is good news.

 

The meters can be used to monitor electricity and natural gas consumption, and will allow customers to see how their daily routine affects their bills.

Officials believe the meters will guide consumers to use energy in lower-cost off-hours instead of during times of peak load.

CPS will either send text messages to consumers detailing their use and cost information or make the information available on the utility's website, the newspaper reported.

 

The utility will spend $20 million through 2011 on the smart meter pilot program, and officials told the Express-News they hope all customers will have smart meters by 2015.

The program is a wise approach that must be pursued vigorously and not allowed to veer off track.

A federally funded weatherization program, another conservation effort with the potential to benefit the entire community by reducing energy demand, has sparked some controversy because the operation is behind schedule.

 

The situation led to a clash between state and city officials, and brought a CPS Energy threat to quit the program if performance is not improved.

San Antonio has spent $1.2 million of a $12.4 million grant funded by the federal stimulus legislation, the newspaper reported. The goal is to weatherize 1,400 homes.

Discussions to work out the problem were set for Monday. The program is worth saving. Weatherization will help economically stressed residents reduce energy bills through efficiency and delay the need to finance new, costly production efforts.

The transition to an efficient energy-saving culture and system will have bumps in the road, but the utility and the city are moving in the right direction.

 

 

City, state iron out issues on weatherization

By Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News    July 13, 2010-07-15

The city of San Antonio and the state agency that oversees a $327 million stimulus-funded federal weatherization program worked through their difficulties Monday morning, with both sides pledging to make the program a success.

“San Antonio is not at risk of losing funds,” said Michael Gerber, executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

He met with, among others, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, CPS Energy acting General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley and state Rep. Jose Menendez, who called the meeting “an open and frank discussion” and “very productive.”

 

“Our constituents don't care whose responsibility it is or where things got stuck,” Menendez said. “They just know there's $12 million coming to San Antonio, and they want to access that and have their bills lowered and homes made more efficient.”

Complete article at:   http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/city_state_iron_out_issues_on_weatherization_98293404.html

 

Water deal wins praise from business

By Vicki Vaughan - Express-News  July 15, 2010-07-15

Business leaders this week praised the San Antonio Water System's agreement to buy water from the Carrizo Aquifer, saying the move helps bolster the image of San Antonio not having a water-shortage issue.

In the deal signed Tuesday, SAWS will buy 11,687 acre-feet of water from the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District that will be transported by pipeline to San Antonio by late 2013.

 

Complete article at:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/business_leaders_praise_saws_water_diversification_98554494.html

 

 

 

2.  SA behind schedule in weatherization program

 

3.  Acting CPS Energy chief likely out of the GM race

 

4.  Interesting developments reviewed in US DOE’s July 7 Energy Efficiency newsletter

********************************************

• •1.    Winds of Prosperity  

The Impact of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ)

Investment in Transmission Infrastructure and the

Potential Effects on Renewable Generation,

Electricity Cost Savings, and Economic Development

Summary of Findings from a Recent Study by The Perryman Group

(Thanks to Frank Burney for submitting.)

 

http://www.perrymangroup.com/newsletter/10_06TPR&TL.pdf

***********************************************************************

SA behind schedule in weatherization program

By John Tedesco and Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News   July 10, 2010

San Antonio's weatherization program is behind schedule, city officials are blaming the state's bureaucracy for the delays and there's a chance CPS Energy could bow out of the program and give up $11 million in federal stimulus money if a resolution can't be reached.

 

“It is too important an issue for this community to continue this program in its current state,” Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, acting general manager of CPS Energy, wrote in a July 6 letter explaining the problems to City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

Officials at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the agency in charge of the state's $327 million weatherization effort, weren't happy when they learned of the city's complaints Thursday evening.

“I think the city is spending too much time making excuses and too little time running the program,” said Michael Gerber, executive director of the department.

 

But Friday afternoon, Gerber softened his tone. He said he'd talked to city officials and was confident the problems could be hashed out. Gerber is scheduled to meet with officials Monday.

“I think there's a desire by the city of San Antonio to right the ship,” Gerber said.

The stimulus funds are supposed to provide work for contractors in a sour economy and reduce monthly energy bills for the poor. Contractors caulk and seal old homes, install insulation and improve air-conditioning systems.

But a flood of federal dollars has swamped the program. The U.S. Energy Department awarded $327 million in weatherization money to Texas. The state's housing agency, TDHCA, manages the program, and the money flowed to organizations across the state to pay contractors to weatherize homes and apartments.

 

Many of the 44 providers, such as San Antonio, were new to the system, and they could lose their grant money if they fall too far behind. The weatherization program in Abilene already is on hold over management concerns, TDHCA spokesman Gordon Anderson said.

San Antonio received $12.4 million in grant money and tasked CPS Energy with overseeing a weatherization program called Casa Verde SA.

Complete article at:   http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/san_antonio_behind_schedule_in_weatherization_program_98154674.html

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Acting CPS Energy chief likely out of the GM race

Greg Jefferson   SA Express News  July 19, 2010

Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley's chances of being CPS Energy trustees' first choice for general manager have plunged, perhaps to zero.

Several followers of the executive search say Mayor Julián Castro undefined one of the utility's five trustees undefined has settled on one of the four finalists, and it's likely not LeBlanc-Burley, the acting general manager.

Earlier this week, Chairman Charles Foster told Express-News reporter Tracy Idell Hamilton that his board is “pretty much of one mind” on who the next GM should be, and could take the vote on or before July 26.

 

Castro refused to name which of the four would get his vote, saying blandly: “I've been very impressed with Jelynne, and I was very impressed with the other applicants as well.” (LeBlanc-Burley is the only internal and only known contender.)

She's believed to be a strong second undefined despite an ongoing whisper campaign among some business leaders, the thrust of which is that she doesn't have the management track record to lead the country's largest municipally owned utility.

They've apparently got a sympathizer in City Manager Sheryl Sculley, according to several sources, who asked for anonymity because the search hasn't reached its final stage. She's said to have contended behind the scenes that her former employee doesn't have enough utility experience.

 

The flipside of that kind of argument is just as valid undefined that CPS is city-owned and needs someone in charge who can work closely with City Hall, especially when it comes time to ask for rate increases, and who forcefully advocates for transparency.

(There's still a lot of work to be done on the latter, which the trustees made clear when they refused this newspaper's request for information on the outside candidates.)

Castro declined to discuss Sculley's take on LeBlanc-Burley. But he noted: “There's no formal role (for Sculley), but hers is an important voice as the chief executive of the utility's owner.”

 

Interesting developments reviewed in US DOE’s July 7 Energy Efficiency newsletter:

(find all at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm)

DOE Offers $1.45 Billion Loan Guarantee to Abengoa Solar

DOE has announced a $1.45 billion conditional loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar to build a concentrating solar power generating facility in Arizona. The project will create 1,600 jobs during construction and will deliver electricity to 70,000 Arizona homes.

 

Solar Panel Manufacturer Gets $400 Million DOE Conditional Loan Guarantee

President Obama has announced a $400 million Recovery Act conditional loan guarantee to Abound Solar Manufacturing for thin-film solar panel assembly facilities in Colorado and Indiana. When fully operational in 2013, the facilities will produce millions of panels annually.

 

DOE and DOI to Spur Offshore Renewable Energy Projects

DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to bolster their partnership on the future development of commercial renewable offshore wind and water energy projects.

 

USDA Awards $4.2 Million in Woody Biomass Utilization Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $4.2 million in grants to small businesses and community groups for renewable energy projects. The projects, which will use biomass from hazardous fuel reduction activities on national forest land, are aimed at reducing wildfire risk.

 

Progressive Automotive X Prize Narrows the Field to 12 Teams

Only 15 vehicles from 12 teams remain in the running for the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize, following the second of three contest stages.

 

Energy Connections

IEA Report: Energy Technology Revolution is Now Underway

That developed countries have accelerated their energy efficiency gains, renewable power investment is rising, and electrified vehicles are hitting the road are all signs of an ongoing energy technology revolution, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

 

Solution for Edwards Aquifer not dead

Colin McDonald - Express-News  June 16, 2010

Water policy experts and stakeholders from across South Texas erupted in applause Tuesday afternoon as they made a step toward finding a solution to protect the endangered species of the San Marcos and Comal springs while meeting water needs.

CPS Energy to let public see more

By Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News   July 7, 2010-07-07

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/energy/utility_to_let_public_see_more_97912669.html?c=y&page=1#storytop

 

GM's Volt to launch in Austin  (and San Antonio)

By William Pack - Express-News    July 1, 2010-07-07

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/automotive/gms_volt_rolls_into_austin_first_97630529.html

 

Give your home an energy break while on vacation

By Mark Williams - Associated Press    July 2, 2010-07-07

http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/give_your_home_an_energy_break_while_on_vacation_97649979.html

 

S.A. tries to help homeowners with energy upgrades

By Vicki Vaughan - Express-News   July 2, 2010-07-07

San Antonio is looking to revamp a proposal to help homeowners pay for energy-efficient upgrades after the innovative financing it had planned to use has stalled.

The city recently won a $10 million grant through the Energy Department undefined the Retrofit Ramp-Up Award undefined and officials wanted to use $6.3 million of that to fund a program that helps homeowners meet the big upfront costs of energy upgrades such as solar panels. The plan would have allowed homeowners to pay for the upgrades on their property taxes over a period of time.

 

That program, known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, took off in California and quickly drew the interest of leaders in San Antonio and in other municipalities around the country. But that plan foundered despite backing from the Energy Department and $150 million in stimulus money.

The city now wants the $6.3 million of its grant “to come up with other financing options that make economic sense. All efforts now are geared toward what can be done that is PACE-like,” said Laurence Doxsey, director of the city's Office of Environmental Policy.

Complete article at:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/sa_tries_to_help_homeowners_with_energy_upgrades_97703204.html

*************************************************************************************************************************************Clean Clean energy will deliver the green, says Leuthold's Kurzman

Sees 20% to 30% returns on clean tech; ‘small base' a big plus

By Jeff Benjamin   Investment News      July 7, 2010

 

Even in the midst of an economic downturn, cleaner and costlier energy makes more sense than does the dirty and cheap stuff, according to David Kurzman, manager of the Leuthold Global Clean Tech Fund Ticker:(LGCTX).

While Mr. Kurzman admits that the current oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico won't be enough to drum up massive public opposition to fossil fuels, he still likes the investment performance potential of clean or alternative energy companies.

 

“We're going to be burning fossil fuels for a long time, but when [clean energy technology] is growing off such a small base you can expect to sustain 20% or 30% growth rates for a long time,” he said.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20100707/FREE/100709925

 

 

Article 1.  Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research

 

 

Article 2.  Today I have received many e-mails appreciative of the Joint Operations Environment report sent yesterday and asking for the companion report, Capstone Concept for Joint Operations that details how our military intends to respond to the challenges in this environment. That offering is below.

***********************************************************************

Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research

June 17, 2010      (Contributed by Marty Wender)

AUSTIN, Texas undefined Conventional solar cell efficiency could be increased from the current limit of 30 percent to more than 60 percent, suggests new research on semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.

Zhu and his colleagues report their results in this week's Science.

The scientists have discovered a method to capture the higher energy sunlight that is lost as heat in conventional solar cells.

 

The maximum efficiency of the silicon solar cell in use today is about 31 percent. That's because much of the energy from sunlight hitting a solar cell is too high to be turned into usable electricity. That energy, in the form of so-called "hot electrons," is lost as heat.

If the higher energy sunlight, or more specifically the hot electrons, could be captured, solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency could be increased theoretically to as high as 66 percent.

 

"There are a few steps needed to create what I call this 'ultimate solar cell,'" says Zhu, professor of chemistry and director of the Center for Materials Chemistry. "First, the cooling rate of hot electrons needs to be slowed down. Second, we need to be able to grab those hot electrons and use them quickly before they lose all of their energy."

Complete article at:  http://www.utexas.edu/news/2010/06/17/quantum_dot_research/

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Capstone Concept for Joint Operations

 

Every military force in history that has successfully adapted to the changing character of war and the evolving threats it faced did so by sharply defining the operational problems it had to solve. With the JOE helping to frame future security problems and highlighting their military implications, the Chairman’s companion document, Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO), answers the problems we have defined, stating how the Joint Force will operate. Taken together, these documents will drive the concept development and experimentation that will, in turn, drive our evolutionary adaptation, while guarding against any single preclusive view of future war.  

 

 

Capstone Concept for Joint Operations Version 3.0

www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2009/CCJO_2009.pdf

 

 

An offering from the introduction:

 

 

“Future conflict may result from a clash of policy interests between

governments, but -- as in the past -- is at least as likely to arise within states

and from a wider variety of causes, including religious and ethnic passions,

dysfunctional borders, societal collapse, government corruption or

incompetence, and natural resource scarcity. Moreover, as demographic,

economic, and other patterns shift geographically around the world, the locus

of conflict and crisis likely will shift also, requiring the United States to

reevaluate its global posturing of military forces.

 

 

While the U.S. has enjoyed uncontested superiority in space for several

decades, ever cheaper access to space and the emergence of antisatellite and

counterspace weapons have begun to level the playing field, and the use and

control of space for both civil and military purposes is becoming increasingly

competitive. Likewise, rapid technological improvement of cyber capabilities

and the relatively low cost of obtaining them will allow states, nonstate actors,

and even individuals to threaten disruption of military, economic, and other

digital networks anywhere in the world.”

 

•         Major Kudos to City Manager Sheryl Sculley, her staff, and the strong revenue contribution of CPS Energy for the great news below!

•     Our Water Forum II will be presented as a partnership with the Greater SA Chamber, San Antonio Water System, UTSA- Texas Sustainable Energy Institute, and KLRN.  Robert Rivard,  Editor of the SA Express News, will serve as Moderator.  This Forum is set as a noon luncheon at the Pearl Stable on October 6, 2010.

•          Because of the major Joint Military Command initiative that is currently underway in our community, I thought many of you would have an interest in the report below following the Express News article.  Pay particular attention to the sections on energy, water, and cyber security. And a final warning, this report is not for the faint of heart.   mike 

San Antonio maintains the highest bond rating

Gilbert Garcia   SA Express News    June 15, 2010

San Antonio has once again recorded a triple-triple, with three national credit-rating agencies reaffirming the city's AAA status, the highest bond rating a city can receive.

San Antonio is one of only two cities with a population of more than a million – Phoenix is the other – to receive a AAA rating, and the only city to receive the optimum mark from all three major agencies: Fitch, Moody's, and Standard & Poor's.

The city's 2008 attainment of a AAA rating is widely regarded as one of the crown jewels of City Manager Sheryl Sculley's tenure in San Antonio, and was cited by council members as a major factor in their decision to award her a lucrative new contract in December 2008.

 

“It's very important,” Sculley said of the credit rating. “Strong financial management results in good ratings and it means less cost to the taxpayer.”

AAA ratings are meant to indicate financial stability and enable a city to issue long-term debt at a favorable interest rate.

 

In the five years since Sculley took over the city manager's job, San Antonio has increased its financial reserves from three to nine percent of its general-fund budget, a move that Standard & Poor's noted in 2008 as one reason for the city's high rating.

Sculley said she would recommend to the council in August that the city maintain its nine-percent reserve level, and added that she ultimately hopes to bump the reserves up to 10 percent.

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Joint Operating Environment 2010

United States Joint Forces Command

“While U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Joint Operating Environment (JOE) in no way constitutes U.S. government policy and must necessarily be speculative in nature, it seeks to provide the Joint Force an intellectual foundation upon which we will construct the concepts to guide our future force development. We will likely not call the future exactly right, but we must think through the nature of continuity and change in strategic trends to discern their military implications to avoid being completely wrong.

 

 

These implications serve to influence the concepts that drive our services’ adaptations to the environments within which they will operate, adaptations that are essential if our leaders are to have the fewest regrets when future crises strike.

In our guardian role for our nation, it is natural that we in the military focus more on possible security challenges and threats than we do on emerging opportunities. From economic trends to climate change and vulnerability to cyber attack, we outline those trends that remind us we must stay alert to what is changing in the world if we intend to create a military as relevant and capable as we possess today. There is a strong note of urgency in our efforts to balance the force for the uncertainties that lie ahead. The JOE gives focus to those efforts which must also embrace the opportunities that are inherent in the world we imperfectly foresee.

 

 

 

Every military force in history that has successfully adapted to the changing character of war and the evolving threats it faced did so by sharply defining the operational problems it had to solve. With the JOE helping to frame future security problems and highlighting their military implications, the Chairman’s companion document, Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO), answers the problems we have defined, stating how the Joint Force will operate. Taken together, these documents will drive the concept development and experimentation that will, in turn, drive our evolutionary adaptation, while guarding against any single preclusive view of future war. None of us have a sufficiently clear crystal ball to predict fully the changing kaleidoscope of future conflicts that hover over the horizon, even as current fights, possible adversaries’ nascent capabilities, and other factors intersect.

 

 

 

We will update the JOE in a year or two, once we have a sufficiently different understanding to make a new edition worthwhile. If you have ideas for improving our assessment of the future security environment and the problems our military must solve to provide relevant defense for our country and like-minded nations, please forward them to J-5 (Strategy), Joint Forces Command.”

J.N. Mattis

General, U.S. Marines

Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command

http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2010/JOE_2010_o.pdf