By Rachael Bade, CQ Staff

House appropriators backed legislation Wednesday that would cut the Homeland Security Department’s funding by $484 million from current levels while boosting spending for first-responder grants, an account Republicans have sought to trim in recent years.

The Homeland Security Subcommittee gave swift voice vote approval to a fiscal 2013 draft bill that would provide $39.1 billion to the department. The total is about $393 million less than President Obama requested. Under the measure, the Transportation Security Administration’s funding would be cut by $422 million from current levels to $5.1 billion, the largest reduction among departmental agencies. (more…)

“How do I get into emergency management?” would likely top a frequently asked questions guide to the industry. With the increase in emergency management and homeland security higher education programs, the number and availability of internship programs for those students also has ramped up.

As organizations seek to utilize interns and develop programs to work with students, it can be helpful to know about what other agencies are doing. Here is a look at three internship programs in the U.S.

Read more @ emergencymgmt.com

A group of Ohio University students, normally focus on game development, has created a 3-D building mapping program to help first responders in safely responding to emergencies ranging from fires to terrorist attacks.

The project took close to three years, and was funded with $950,000 from DHS, which paid for equipment and travel, along with the work of participating students.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the developers say that IVIN, or Immersive Video Imaging Network, creates a 3-D, Web-based image of the building, allowing first responders to place themselves anywhere inside the building with a 360 degree view of the environment, just like in a video game. The information gathered in this way  would allow first responders to develop the best plan for approaching the building.

Read more @ www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com

As technology continues to redefine emergency management practices, the process of incorporating new concepts into daily practice and planning can be confusing. This is especially true if the concept sounds mysterious and cryptic — cloud computing often sounds complex
and bewildering.

The truth isn’t nearly that exciting. Cloud computing is more like regressing to the early days of network design. The “cloud” in cloud computing was the symbol network engineers used to illustrate unknown domains and large networks of servers located elsewhere. Using the power of other computers somewhere on the Internet — that’s what cloud computing is all about.

“Cloud computing is just hosted computer services,” said Pascal Shuback, a program coordinator for the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management. “It is simply using the power of other computers on the Internet.”

Read more @ emergencymgmt.com

From A.W.A.R.E

AWARE has just received an invitation to the upcoming Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) Town Hall being held on Tuesday, May 22, in conjunction with the 6th Annual National Homeland Security Conference in Columbus, Ohio.

The CMAS Town Hall will provide alert and warnings stakeholders with a timely opportunity to help shape current and future planning of CMAS Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDT&E).  With a strong focus on mobile communications, Conference participants will also collaborate with colleagues nationwide to inform guidance for integrating CMAS and increasing the market penetration of CMAS-capable devices.

Read more @ awareforum.org