Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Jan. 14, 2025
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L.A. Wildfires: Recovery Tips and Resources
The Los Angeles wildfires have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, destroyed thousands of homes, and resulted in at least 24 deaths. The situation could change rapidly as dangerous winds continue this week.
Accurate information and sound guidance are critical to Angelenos who are displaced or otherwise affected by this crisis. To that end, RAND's Jay Balagna and Aaron Clark-Ginsberg have pulled together a list of key steps and resources to help. Topics covered include how to find up-to-date information about evacuation zones, filing insurance claims, countering misinformation and disinformation, how to help others, and addressing psychological trauma.
While it can be hard to consider the future at times like this, Balagna and Clark-Ginsberg write, in many ways, L.A.'s long road to recovery is already beginning.
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** More on the Fires
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- In the Los Angeles Times, Balagna and RAND colleagues Alyson Harding and Vanessa Parks write about how communication may be one of the biggest problems in modern emergency management: "And because of this, we might be missing out on an enormous untapped resource: the willingness of Americans to help."
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- RAND experts and colleagues from the wider wildland fire community discuss how to build wildland fire resilience moving forward.
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- How will the fires affect California's insurance market? RAND's Lloyd Dixon discusses in the Associated Press.
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- Many people rebuilding all at once after the fires could lead to even higher housing costs and slower housing production, RAND's Jason Ward tells the New York Times.
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- In Education Week, RAND's Isaac Opper speaks about the effects of disasters on students and learning: "Because the education system in the U.S. is so decentralized, I think there's not tons of communication across districts and across states, on what the best practices are."
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- As emergency managers in the Los Angeles area lead a massive response and recovery effort, a new RAND report examines the evolving field of emergency management, including how the growing risks of climate change may affect planning and decisionmaking.
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Using Data to Help Improve Veterans' Well-Being
Timely and usable data about U.S. veterans, their families, and caregivers are essential. While the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has vast amounts of data on these groups, much of that trove is not available outside the department. Further, these data are limited in scope. A new RAND report may help fill these gaps by providing a guide to additional data collected and maintained by other government agencies, community organizations, and nonprofits. Access to such information could lead to better-informed policy decisions that support veterans' health and well-being.
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What U.S. Allies Really Contribute to Shared Defense
Two percent. That's how much every NATO country has pledged to spend on defense as a percentage of its GDP. But according to RAND's King Mallory, this goal has never been an effective measure of allies' contributions to global security. Mallory is the lead author of a RAND analysis that goes beyond defense spending to reveal what allies bring to the table, including their support for peacekeeping missions and the costs of enforcing economic sanctions. The result is a more detailed view of contributions to the collective defense, offering insights that could help NATO make more-focused requests of its members.
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** RAND Recommends
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- HTS, the rebel group that ousted Bashar al-Assad in Syria, wants international help in safely dismantling the regime's clandestine chemical weapons program. This runs counter to conventional wisdom about terrorist groups' interest in exotic weapons, says RAND's John Parachini.
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- RAND's Wendy Troxel is quoted in TIME. Troxel led a RAND study finding that later school start times could prove both a public health and an economic boon.
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- On a recent visit to Kyiv, RAND's William Courtney gained insights into Ukrainians' perspectives on the ongoing conflict there. They are "determined to resist Russian aggression but tired of war," he says.
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** Events
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Admissions Webinar: Master of National Security Policy Faculty Panel
Thursday, January 23, 2025 (Online)
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Policy Lab: AI and Homeland Security
Thursday, January 30, 2025 (Online)
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