Orion Neighborhood Television Wins 2020 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation
ONTV took home the News: Access Center Professional award
LAKE ORION ─ JUNE 1, 2020 ─ Orion neighborhood Television was announced a recipient of a 2020 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation. The awards program was established to honor and promote community media and local cable programs that are distributed on Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access cable television channels.
Station manager Joe Johnson and ONTV volunteer Stacy Calloway received the award for the 2018 Year In Review newscast in the News: Access Center Professional category. The newscast is a recap of the stories produced at ONTV throughout the year. The program aired at the beginning of 2019.
“We’re very proud of ONTV News and we think it ranks up there among the best public access newscasts in the country,” said Joe Johnson. “We submitted ONTV News: 2018 The Year in Review because it showcases the work we did throughout the year. Winning this award reaffirms our efforts to put out a high quality news program for the residents of the Lake Orion community. I hope the community is as proud of this award as we are.”
Each year, a panel of judges evaluates over a thousand entries based on several factors including subject, experience and budget. Awards are then presented to the most creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats and move viewers to experience television in a different way. Proceeds from the awards program are used exclusively for facilitating, preserving and promoting education in community media.
“The Hometown Media Awards celebrate both the excellence of work and the diversity of media that appears on community channels being produced around the country. The ACM Foundation is proud of their achievement and of how they represent their communities in their work,” said Mike Wassenaar, president & CEO, Alliance for Community Media.
Governor Whitmer Rolls Back COVID-19 Executive Orders on FOIA, Hospital Capacity, and Ambulances, MDHHS Loosens Visitation Rules in Hospitals
LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer today announced rescissions of executive orders on FOIA, hospital capacity, and emergency medical services, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human services (MDHHS) loosened rules on who can visit patients in certain health care settings, as regions across Michigan continue to advance under the MI Safe Start plan.
“As we slowly and safely reopen our economy, it’s important to roll back emergency orders designed to deal with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Governor Whitmer said. “By rolling back executive orders, and allowing more people to visit their loved ones in hospitals, it sends a clear signal we are making progress in the fight against COVID-19 and continue to move in a positive direction.”
Executive Order 2020-38, which extends certain FOIA deadlines due to COVID-19, will be rescinded at 12:00 am on June 11, 2020. Executive Orders 2020-39 (providing temporary relief from certain restrictions and requirements governing the provision of emergency medical services) and 2020-82 (providing temporary enhancements to operational capacity and efficiency of health care facilities) are rescinded, effective immediately.
Additionally, MDHHS Director Robert Gordon issued an epidemic order, “Exceptions to temporary restrictions on entry into certain facilities,” that allows expanded visitation in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and doctor’s offices.
“Sometimes a visitor can be just the medicine a hospitalized patient needs to help them through their recovery,” said Gordon. “As long as strong precautions are taken to help ensure the health and safety of visitors, patients and staff, this order allows for exceptions to those restrictions.”
Those facilities are required to:
Limit visitor entry to designated entrances that allow proper screening;
Post signage at the visitor entrance instructing visitors to be assessed for symptoms of COVID-19 before entry and instructing persons who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, including, but not limited to, fever, cough, or shortness of breath to not enter the facility;
Perform a health evaluation of all individuals that are not under the care of the facility each time the individual seeks to enter the facility, and deny entry to those individuals who do not meet the evaluation criteria.
Strongly discourage entering any facility to visit persons at high risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19, including older adults and persons with underlying medical conditions;
Restrict visitation to the patient’s room or other designated locations;
Require visitors who are medically able to wear a mask or other cloth face covering for the duration of their visit, and swiftly remove from the facility visitors who fail to abide by this requirement;
For in-patient stays, make available on-site and off-site alternatives to in-person visits, such as video or audio calls;
Disallow visitation during aerosol-generating procedures or during collection of respiratory specimens unless deemed necessary by hospital staff for the care and well-being of the patient; and
Permit visitation only during select hours and limits the number of visitors per resident.
Oakland County To Rescind Swimming Pool Health Order June 8
Waterford, Michigan – In order to align with State of Michigan emergency orders, effective June 8, Oakland County Health Division will rescind Emergency Health Order 2020-11, which closed all public swimming pools in the county.
All public swimming pools in Oakland County will remain closed until that date when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order allows outdoor public swimming pools to open with capacity restrictions but keeps indoor public swimming pools closed. The definition of a public swimming pool is found Section 333.12521(d) in the Michigan Public Health Code.
For media inquiries only, please contact Bill Mullan, Oakland County media and communications officer, at 248-858-1048.
Gov. Whitmer’s Request to Extend Use of Michigan National Guard to Combat COVID-19 Approved by President Trump
Michigan to Continue Utilizing National Guard to Combat COVID-19 as Part of Reopening State’s Economy
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan National Guard will continue its efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic after President Donald Trump extended federal deployment known as Title 32 authority until Aug. 21. The extension comes after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the president on May 27 urging him to extend Title 32 authority.
“The Michigan National Guard has been instrumental in our efforts to flatten the curve and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and will continue to play a vital role as we slowly and safely reopen our economy,” Governor Whitmer said. “We need to keep working to expand testing and this extension will ensure we can continue to ramp up testing throughout the state. Moving too fast without the tests we need could put Michigan at risk of a second wave of infections.”
The Michigan National Guard has played a critical role in flattening the COVID-19 curve in Michigan by distributing Personal Protective Equipment, food, and medical supplies, providing warehousing support, disinfecting public spaces, and assisting the Department of Health and Human Services with testing.
Title 32 authority, which allows Guard members to receive federal pay and benefits, was set to expire on June 24 due to a deadline set by the Trump Administration. In addition to allowing Michigan to fully utilize the National Guard for recovery and reopening efforts, the extension of Title 32 authority means that many Guard members will qualify for federal retirement and education benefits made available under the GI Bill. Without an extension, some Guard members would not have been eligible to receive these benefits.
“The Michigan National Guard looks forward to continuing its work with Governor Whitmer in our state’s response to COVID-19,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, Adjutant General and Director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). “This approval allows Michigan National Guard members to continue to serve our communities and protect Michigan families.”
Governor Whitmer Calls on the White House to Help States with Testing, Budget Shortfalls in Testimony to Congress
Gov. Whitmer highlights Michigan’s aggressive action against COVID-19 in remote testimony
LANSING, Mich. — Today, in testimony delivered remotely before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Governor Whitmer called on the federal government to help states like Michigan ensure and promote widespread testing for COVID-19. The governor also highlighted the aggressive action Michigan has taken in the fight against COVID-19, including the state’s efforts to secure personal protective equipment for frontline workers, expand testing capacity and eligibility, and address health disparities in communities of color.
“Since I first declared an emergency in response to this pandemic, my administration has taken aggressive measures to fight the spread of COVID-19, prevent the rapid depletion of the state’s critical health care resources, and lower the chance of a devastating second wave,” said Governor Whitmer. “We need the White House to create a specific, long-term plan outlining how the federal government will ensure we have adequate testing supplies so we can gather the data we need to make informed decisions about re-engaging our economies. And we would all benefit from a guarantee of free testing nationwide coupled with a robust federal messaging campaign to encourage Americans to get tested.”
“As we re-engage Michigan’s economy, we know it is crucial we do this incrementally. The worst thing we can do is to open up in a way that causes a second wave of infections and death, putting our frontline heroes at further risk and extending the economic crisis. We have to get this right.”
The governor also echoed her calls on the federal government to help states address the significant revenue shortfalls they are facing after dedicating resources to saving lives and protecting frontline heroes.
“Right now, the language in the CARES Act does not provide states with the flexibility we need to address our revenue shortfalls. A broader solution is needed to provide states with additional support and this critical flexibility. I thank members of the House for their work and hope that Congress and the Administration can come together to get it done.”
To view the governor’s full written testimony, click the link below:
