The Passing of Terry Egan on July 3, 2017 By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The passing of Terry Egan on July 3, 2017 merits special attention. Too often great emergency managers at all levels are relatively unnoticed in life, their contributions to the safety of the public [...]

Government Ain’t Easy By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Most public sector employees are accustomed to hearing that government workers have it easy, compared to their counterparts in the private sector. For example, even casual conversations with parents of your children’s soccer teammates can provide a glimpse into [...]

About Brock Long: An Unsolicited Endorsement By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Brock Long, the new FEMA Administrator, has a tremendous reservoir of experience in areas like school safety, as a state director of emergency management and a successful stint in the private sector as an executive with [...]

Maybe We Should Take Our Issues To Jared? By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed It’s sometimes difficult to see too far into the future, particularly when we seem locked perpetually into an uncertain present. While we await the direction the Trump Administration will take in homeland security and [...]

Notes from NEMA Mid-Year By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The National Emergency Management Association held its midyear forum in Alexandria, Virginia March 20-24. As a past president, I serve on standing committees to which past presidents are assigned as liaisons (mine are Response and Recovery, Mitigation and [...]

Re-Packaging Preparedness Messaging By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Three days’ preparedness was, and still is, considered reasonable for most disasters we may endure, be it flood, fire, storm or even minor earthquakes. Even in a just - in - time society, it remains a manageable goal for [...]

2017-2021: The Road Ahead By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed A new Administration through budget and policy initiatives will soon impact emergency management and homeland security priorities. We must consider what we can support, and how best to oppose and amend what we regard as unwise or unjust. [...]

The Difference Between “Good” and “Great” By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed A reporter recently asked me this question: With all the information that is available to government officials about seismic vulnerabilities, why is very little ever done about it? The answer to the reporter’s very legitimate question [...]

So, About Earthquakes By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed You may have noticed the Lifelock identity theft TV commercials. In one, a uniformed man is stationed in a bank, when armed men order everyone to the floor. Alarmed customers implore him to “do something!” His response is “oh, [...]

Reconciliation versus Resistance: Which Will Win? - By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed After this year’s national election, a sizable portion of our population will feel devastated and perhaps even betrayed. When Kennedy defeated Nixon in 1960 (my earliest clear recollection) and in the years since, if your [...]

On Hearing Without Listening By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed “Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest…” Paul Simon Elected officials in our state have ignored repeated warnings, suppressed ambitious but necessary proposals, and essentially wagered the long range future of our [...]

Then and Now By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is this month. The terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and the Twin Towers was shocking, and the anthrax attacks thoroughly spooked the national media and Congress. Concern over natural hazard risks receded, [...]

“What If” - Some Thoughts for Late Summer By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Both major political parties have settled upon their respective presidential tickets. It seems reasonable to gauge the impact that a victory for either major party candidate might have on homeland security and emergency management [...]

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Director Linda Crerar of the Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) program has been after me to discuss what policy issues should be part of the Bachelor’s in Arts and Sciences (BAS) degree that will soon be offered. I’ve resisted [...]

On Seismic Neglect By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Sunday May 15 the Seattle Times (“Seismic Neglect” seattletimes.com) began a series that critiques the lack of leadership with respect to addressing the seismic risk of Washington State, and in particular that Seattle faces. The report provides examples of [...]

Preparing For Transition By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Each year, National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) holds a midyear Issues forum, typically in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s a good opportunity to check on the major issues and challenges confronting emergency management, and since this is a presidential election year, [...]

Contemplating the Day After By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed As a major earthquake exercise for the Northwest (CASCADIA RISING) approaches we might ask ourselves why we are doing this and for whom are we doing it? March 11, 2016 is the 5th year anniversary of the Sendai [...]

A Special Note on the 15th Anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake By Jim Mullenz Emergency Management, Once Removed February 28, 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake. I have some vivid memories of that day, but the primary value in looking backward is to assess how far [...]

What’s In a Name? Educating Emergency Managers (and Everyone Else) By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Before launching onto this month’s blog, has anyone else been angered by the expropriation of the title “emergency manager” by the state of Michigan, to describe state-appointed fiscal overseers of local government [...]

Let's Count Our Assets By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed One of the advantages of being in semi-retirement ( as an independent consultant) is that between contracts there is often time to reflect on issues that have an impact on our profession. But you also have time to [...]

Dealing with Climate Change - It's On Us By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed I recently attended the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) annual forum in Miami. The search for an acceptable way to address climate change among the nation’s state directors of emergency management (climate adaptation, ‘natural” [...]

The Big One: Our Big Gap - By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The recent New York Times article about the potentially devastating impact of a major earthquake sparked the predictable reactions: some bemoaned the repeated warnings would continue to go unheeded and forecast grave consequences, while others [...]