Notes to accompany a presentation on the friendship and collaboration between Willis Conover and Duke Ellington for the 26th International Duke Ellington Study Group Conference. Due to the Covid pandemic, this conference was cancelled early in the morning before it was set to begin.

A document that records the meeting minutes from the March 11 meeting of the Arlington Chapter of TXSSAR. Sections are given to each formal portion of the meeting's proceedings and smaller notes are included beneath the larger headers.

Agenda for the March 11, 2017 TXSSAR meeting. Agenda items include a members report, along with all of the past events and known upcoming events for the year. They also discussed the budget and awards that will be given out by the chapter.

Minutes for the March 11, 2017 TXSSAR meeting. The minutes were written by TXSSAR, Arlington Chapter 7 Secretary David R. Friels. He included the chapter member that gave the information in his notes.

Registrar's report for March 2017. TXSSAR, Arlington Chapter 7 Registrar Kevin Snell Jorrey compiled the list of members and applicants.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Simpson. Simpson joined the Navy in June of 1940. He went to boot camp in San Diego, California. From there he went to Aviation Radio School to learn Morse Code. He also completed gunnery school. He was then transferred in early 1941 to the air group on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and placed in Scouting Squadron 3 (VS-3). They traveled back and forth from San Diego to Hawaii for training cruises. Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor they traveled back to Hawaii. They were then sent out to look for the Japanese fleet, and ended up getting hit by a Japanese submarine. He talks about this experience. In July of 1942 he was back out to sea headed to the Solomon Islands, providing air support for the Marines at Guadalcanal. He provides details of the fighting at Guadalcanal. He was medically retired by the Navy in June of 1951.

News release about the appointment of Timothy A. Hayden to the DART board of directors, representing the cities of Carrollton and Irving.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget request of $525.1 million seeks an increase of 3.9 percent to maintain staff capacity as well as continue necessary maintenance and improvements to our information technology (IT) and building infrastructure. Additionally, receipts and reimbursements, primarily from program and financial audits, and rental income, totaling $30.9 million are expected in FY 2015."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nolan Donop. Donop joined the Army and eventually shipped out to Italy, where he volunteered to cook before being assigned to the 34th Infantry Divivsion and making his way to northern Italy to the Apennine Mountains. Donop recalls a few anecdotes from his combat experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Phyllis Mullins. Mullins was born in Conneautville, Pennsylvania on 20 June 1921. She attended nursing school at the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia and graduated in 1942. In 1943, she joined the United States Army Air Forces Nursing unit as a first lieutenant and was sent to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia for basic training. Upon completion, she was sent to Orlando Army Air Base in Florida. She got married in 1943 and obtained her discharge in conjunction with her husband’s discharge from the Army Air Forces.

News release about minor DART bus route and schedule adjustments.

News release about he previewing of DART's new low-floor, compressed natural gas buses at the DFW Auto Show.

News release about DART's plan to turn off all non-essential lights at its headquarters building for one hour as part of the Earth Hour environmental awareness campaign.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) budget request for fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2010, GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and 70 percent of their subcommittees. Our work yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $49.9 billion--a return on investment of $87 for every dollar invested in GAO. In addition, we documented over 1,300 other benefits resulting from our work that helped improve services to the public, promote improved management throughout government and change laws, such as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on GAO's high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of March 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and management challenges that GAO has identified at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP's need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program's long-term financial solvency. This testimony 1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing in light of public policy goals for federal involvement in natural catastrophe insurance and 2) highlights operational and management challenges at FEMA that affect the program. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its past work on NFIP and on its ongoing review of FEMA's management of NFIP, which focuses on its planning, policies, processes, and systems. The management review includes areas such as strategic and human capital planning, acquisition management, and intra-agency collaboration."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Global hunger continues to worsen despite world leaders' 1996 pledge--reaffirmed in 2000 and 2009--to halve hunger by 2015. To reverse this trend, in 2009 major donor countries pledged about $22.7 billion in a 3-year commitment to agriculture and food security in developing countries, of which $3.5 billion is the U.S. share. This testimony addresses (1) the types and funding of food security programs and activities of relevant U.S. government agencies and (2) progress in developing an integrated U.S. governmentwide strategy to address global food insecurity and the strategy's potential vulnerabilities. This is based on a new GAO report being released at today's hearing (GAO-10-352)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The JSF is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition. DOD is seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF program is to provide critical replacement aircraft that will serve as the heart of future tactical air forces. It will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $323 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is based on our report entitled "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Fewer Eligible Families Have Received Cash Assistance Since the 1990s, and the Recession's Impact on Caseloads Varies by State." As a result of sweeping changes made to federal welfare policy in 1996 with the creation of TANF, welfare changed from a program entitling eligible families to monthly cash payments under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to a capped block grant that emphasized employment and work supports for most adult participants who receive such assistance. With the creation of TANF, the number of families who received cash assistance fell significantly, from 4.8 million families on average each month in 1995--just prior to the creation of TANF--to 1.7 million in 2008. During this time frame, poverty among all children initially fell, from about 21 percent in 1995 to about 16 percent in 2000, and then rose thereafter to 19 percent in 2008. Most families receiving cash assistance are single mothers with children, and children in such families have historically experienced high rates of poverty. Furthermore, the recession, which began in late 2007 and deepened nationally …

Minutes for the March 11, 2010 TXSSAR meeting, held by the McKinney chapter.

Balance of conference food service check of $233.84 made on March 11, 2009.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our recent report on the Department of Energy's (DOE) decision to restructure the FutureGen program. The original FutureGen plant was to capture and store underground about 90 percent of its CO2 emissions. DOE's cost share was to be 74 percent, and industry partners agreed to fund the rest. Concerned about escalating costs, DOE announced in January 2008 that it had decided to restructure FutureGen. In October 2008, DOE received a small number of applications for the restructured FutureGen; however, some of these applications were for proposals outside the restructured FutureGen's scope. As we reported, DOE is currently assessing proposals received and stated it expected to announce a selection of projects by December 2008; however, as of the beginning of March 2009, it had made no decision. DOE requested supplemental information from restructured FutureGen applicants, which will be reviewed before any selection decision. As Congress may know, the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the stimulus law, provides DOE an additional $3.4 billion for "Fossil Energy Research and Development." Such a substantial amount of funding could significantly impact DOE's decisions about …

Conference blue binders check of $60.05 made on March 11, 2009.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Forest Service, within the Department of Agriculture, manages over 190 million acres of forest and grassland. The agency is responsible for managing its lands for various purposes--including recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and others--while ensuring that such activities do not impair the lands' long-term productivity. Carrying out these often competing responsibilities has been made more difficult by the increasing cost of wildland fires and the budgetary constraints necessitated by our nation's long-term fiscal outlook. This testimony highlights some of the major management challenges the Forest Service faces in carrying out its land management responsibilities. It is based on numerous reports GAO has issued on a wide variety of the agency's activities."

Purchase 6 internet domain names of $59.70 on March 11, 2009.