Public Relations Association

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Public Relations Association (IPRA) today installed Robert W. Grupp as its President. Grupp brings 30 years of public relations experience to IPRA, with special expertise in international corporate communications. IPRA is an association of nearly 1,100 individual public relations executives in 100 countries.

In remarks today to more than 100 leaders of the public relations community, Grupp said his leadership priorities include improving communications with members, publicly promoting the public relations profession, international member recruitment and retention, and providing intellectual leadership to the profession.

18.5 million saw Sarah Harding ads

The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) has issued a report card on its work for 2006. Its accomplishments include reaching more than 18.5 million subscribers to major publications with a positive public-relations campaign; the development of a board of directors and an advisory committee representing a cross-section of the chiropractic industry; and major financial support from chiropractic suppliers, associations, schools, and organizations.

Whistleblower legislation being readied

At least two lawmakers are working on a drafts for the next legislative session to address the state's protection of its whistleblowers.Rep. Tracy Potter, D-Bismarck, submitted a draft of a bill to the Legislative Council in an effort to better define the winding path a state employee must go down when reporting perceived violations in the workplace.Rep. Pam Gulleson, D-Rutland, also is drafting a bill that "ensures the law is meaningful in terms of providing protection ..."Currently, a state employee is ensured protection under the North Dakota Century Code, chapter 34-11.1, the public employees relations act; the act says an employee may report, without fear of reprisal, in writing to the employee's respective agency head, a state's attorney, the attorney general or an employee organization a job-related violation or misuse of public resources.For doing so, an employer should not retaliate against an employee.But the law seems to provide little by way of protection, perhaps only leaving an employee who may have been a victim of retaliation to follow up with a civil suit or to wait to see if the complaint of retaliation will be investigated and prosecuted.Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha have cited conflicts of interest with at least one agency that's seen the most recent eruption of whistleblower requests - Workforce Safety and Insurance.Five employees have filed for whistleblower protection from WSI, the state's workers' compensation agency, citing concerns of retaliation for reporting a myriad of issues.One, Jim Long, chief of support services, was put on paid administrative leave shortly after sending a 30-page document, which outlined perceived violations, including open meetings circumvention and disclosure of confidential information, among others, to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.Another whistleblower, Todd Flanagan in the special investigations unit, was fired in early December.Shortly thereafter, Stenehjem requested a highway patrol investigation into whether there was evidence of retaliation; that investigation, along with Long's 30-page document, was given to Grand Forks' State's Attorney Peter Welte.Welte, who was at the North Dakota State's Attorneys Association conference in Mandan this week, said his office has just begun reviewing the investigation."We haven't had time to completely review it, but we're in the process of doing that,"he said.Afurther section of North Dakota employment law, NDCC 34-01-20, provides only for private employees, ultimately allowing for civil action or mediation by the Department of Labor; however, the Department of Labor has no authority to investigate or enforce a complaint, only to act as a mediator between the company and the employee, said Lisa Fair McEvers, commissioner of the Department of Labor.The department does, however, investigate retaliation in relation to other complaints, but not for whistleblowers, she said.The two bills would seek to change the Department of Labor's role.Potter's bill would actually require the employee report the initial violation to the state auditor's office, which would be given the authority to investigate the claim.

John Ervin: SEX, DRUGS AND FAMILY VALUES

The distinction is very important here. As Mike Jones, author of the recently released memoir, I Had to Say Something, repeatedly reminded those of us who attended a public reading and Q and A he hosted at Minneapolis Magers and Quinn Booksellers, he performed duties for most of his clients that went way beyond sex. However, it must be said that the bump-and-grind was the key - if not only - component of the three-year escort-client relationship he had with his most famous patron, defrocked pastor and founder of Colorados New Life Church, and defunct leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted Haggard.

That appeared to be the case from the excerpt that Jones, who, at fifty, could pass for thirty thanks to a physique that would put the current Governor of California to shame, read from the opening pages of his book.

Effects of lax lending standards settling in

There are increasing signs that the subprime home mortgage pain is spreading to other forms of consumer credit, economic observers say.

On Thursday, the American Bankers Association released data showing that for many types of consumer loans, delinquency has reached the highest rate since mid-2001, when the nation was in the embrace of recession. Delinquency is defined as payments that are 30 days or more overdue.

"There has been an increase in certain categories of delinquencies," said Carol Kaplan, senior manager of public relations for the American Bankers Association. "We are seeing stress in housing-related loans and we anticipate that trend continuing."