Hot News Items - February 2006

CGIA awards contract to Michael Baker Jr. Inc. for development of a "California Geospatial Framework Data Draft Plan"
The California Geographic Information Association (CGIA) is partnering with the US Geological Survey, the California Resources Agency, and the California GIS Council (with funding from the USGS and Federal Geographic Data Committee) to develop a California Geospatial Framework Data Draft Plan. It is intended that CGIA will work with these partners and the larger California GIS community to develop a geospatial framework data planning approach that supports the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). To accomplish this, CGIA is awarding a contract to Michael Baker Jr. Inc. to conduct and document associated outreach workshops across the State as part of the process of developing the California Geospatial Framework Data Draft Plan.

Nominate CGIA Members for Awards!
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 3
Since 1997, the California Geographic Information Association (CGIA) has recognized the outstanding accomplishments of the state's GIS community through its annual awards program. We are pleased to announce the opening of the nomination period for the 2006 awards. Nominations are now being accepted in the following categories:

• Chair's Award: honoring an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the promotion, innovation, and/or use of GIS technology.
• Exemplary Systems Award: honoring the outstanding and innovative application of GIS technology.
• Advancement of Collaboration Award: honoring exemplary inter-organizational collaborative efforts in GIS (data sharing, standards adoption, etc).
• Outstanding Internet Presentation Award: honoring outstanding application of GIS and web technologies.
• Excellence in Education Award: honoring outstanding educational institutions and programs in GIS.

Nomination forms and explanation of the award categories can be found here on the CGIA website. Nominations are due March 3, 2006. Winners will be announced at the 2006 CalGIS conference in Santa Barbara, April 4-6, 2006. Nominators, nominees and winners need not be CGIA members to qualify. For more information, please contact Jeff Kapellas at or 510-622-2370.

CGIA Supports CIRGIS for Cap Grant Funding
CGIA recently submitted a letter of support for CIRGIS in their funding efforts for the 2006 NSDI Category 5 CAP grant application regarding geographic information integration and analysis. CGIA supports funding for regional groups, such as CIRGIS, that build metadata catalogs and distribute high-quality spatial data for geospatial users at the state and national levels to build the NSDI. Facilitating interagency geospatial data sharing in California is a primary goal of CGIA, and we strongly support the application by CIRGIS that will demonstrate the viability of the WMS based data sharing strategy.

CGIA Supports USC GIS Research Lab for Cap Grant Funding
CGIA recently submitted a letter of support for the University of Southern California (USC) GIS Research Lab in their funding efforts for the 2006 NSDI Category 5 CAP grant application regarding geographic information integration and analysis. This valuable project would provide a significant step towards an accurate and complete gazetteer for Los Angeles County with access conforming to the OGC standards using open source technologies. The knowledge developed creating this project will allow others to replicate this innovative access to geospatial resources.

CGIA presenting at CALGIS
CGIA has submitted two presentations for the CALGIS conference on April 5, 6, and 7, 2006.

The first session will focus on the implementation of CGIA's leadership vision. Main points include the impact of our new website for CGIA and its members, the benefits of supporting CGIA with membership and participation, the consequences of not having an effective CGIA and an explanation of current initiatives for both accomplishments during 2004-05 and on-going initiatives in 2005-06. Other discussion topics include a preview of CGIA's future strategic possibilities over the next three years. These include CGIA increasing synergistic regional collaboration, demonstrating why GIS is a "technology of choice" for evaluating many of California's cultural, economic and political policy choices, and CGIA's leadership role towards policy and legislative changes to allocate resources for creating on-going data sharing, training, regional collaboration projects in concert with the California Geographic Information Councils strategic directions. The session will also show how the organization encourages operational cooperation to implement emergency management, homeland security, and other regional projects.

The second session involves a regional collaboration roundtable with stakeholders about projects that have improved collaboration, cooperation, and resource allocation in support of strategic regional initiatives that have statewide implications and identify future regional project possibilities. This purpose of this open policy discussion forum is for the California Geographic Information Association (CGIA) and the California GIS Council to obtain feedback that can be used to focus future policy discussion and direction.

For complete conference information, please visit www.calgis.org.

Northern California Chapter of URISA Quarterly Meeting and Training - Mark your calendar for the upcoming URISA Chapter Meeting on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 from 1-4 PM, at the West Sacramento Civic Center, 1110 W. Capitol Ave, West Sacramento, CA 95691. Come join us for a look at what folks are doing in our area regarding disaster management and response.

• Theme: Disaster Planning, Management, & Response: A G/IS Perspective (Part 2)

This chapter meeting will present some local efforts and ideas, with presentations from the Office of Emergency Services (OES), Bureau of Land Management, and SACOG. We look forward to your participation in these meetings! Please RSVP so we can get an accurate head count to: . Visit our website at: www.norcalurisa.org.

Unleashing the Power of GIS and GPS Workshop
Learn how to turn data into knowledge that you and your organization can use in powerful new ways. Attend Unleashing the Power of GIS and GPS, a 2-day hands-on workshop for GIS users at all levels including novices and newcomers. This workshop will be in conjunction with the AAG conference in Chicago, IL on March 6-7, 2006 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago, IL. The workshop will help attendees:

• Understand how GIS is used in a variety of applications, including municipal government, natural hazards, natural resources, demographic analysis, and business
  
• Gain confidence in the hands-on use of GIS software and methods
  
• Comprehend spatial data sources and how to apply them to real-world problems
  
• Learn what GPS is and how to integrate GPS and GIS
  
• Become familiar with organizations, training opportunities, new trends, and literature in the field of GIS
  

Free ESRI Virtual Seminar, February 23,
Introduction to Job Tracking for ArcGIS
Presented live, these free training seminars are focused lectures on a variety of GIS topics for all levels of users. February 23: Introduction to Job Tracking for ArcGIS (JTX). Times: 9 AM, 11 AM, & 3 PM Pacific (Los Angeles)

ESRI ArcGIS User Group Locations
ArcGIS User Groups provide a forum for ESRI users to share their experiences with each other, exchange best practices, and learn about new technology. These groups are very effective for new as well as experienced users. Topics range from entry level to advanced. Each meeting offers a focused, education-based agenda. Register now for the upcoming meeting in your area:

• Feb 1 San Joaquin Valley User Group Meeting
  Cal State University Fresno Business Ctr, Fresno, CA
  
• Feb 8 ESRI Virtual Engineering User Group Meeting
  WEBINAR, Redlands, CA
  
• Feb 9 Inland Empire User Group Meeting
  City of Ontario, Ontario, CA
  
• Feb 14 San Diego ESRI User Group Meeting
  DoubleTree Hotel Mission Valley, San Diego, CA
  
• Feb 16 ESRI/SAP User Group (ESUG) Meeting
  Marin Municipal Water District, Corte Madera, CA
  
• Feb 16 Bakersfield User Group Meeting
  U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Bakersfield, CA
  
• Feb 28 Ventura/Santa Barbara User Group Meeting
  Ventura College, Science Center Rm 116, Ventura, CA
  

ESRI CA/HI/NV/Guam Regional User Group Conference
March 6-8, 2006 2006 Regional Users Group Conference
Waikiki Beach Marriott, Honolulu, HI

The Northwest Environmental Training Center presents the 3-Day Contaminant Chemistry Series

• Course 1: Fundamental Contaminant Chemistry - A Review of Chemistry Principles Essential for Understanding Contaminant Behavior in the Environment
  Course No. CHEM-403A
  March 14, 2006, 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. (1 Day)
  Mission Valley Resort, 875 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, California
  Course Details: http://www.nwetc.org/chem-403a_03-06_sandiego.htm
• Course 2: Contaminant Chemistry and Transport in Soil and Groundwater
  Course No. CHEM-403B
  March 15 - 16, 2006, 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. (2 Days)
  Mission Valley Resort, 875 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, California
  Course Details: http://www.nwetc.org/chem-403b_03-06_sandiego.htm

Contact Erick McWayne at with questions.

International Conference in GIS and Health:
Geospatial Research and Application Frontiers in Environmental and Public Health Systems (GRAFEPHS 2006)
27-29 June 2006, Hong Kong, Abstract Submission deadline past (January 31, 2006)
Sponsored by The Croucher Foundation, Hong Kong
This 3-day conference, organized by Department of Geography, HKU and the State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems (LREIS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, will provide a forum for geospatial experts, practicing epidemiologists, statisticians, environmentalists, toxicologists, and public health physicians concerned with the impact of environmental exposures on the health of populations to chart their research paths and agenda.

Objectives of the conference:

• Improving the ability of those concerned in identifying environmental priorities and improving public health planning policy
  
• Assisting the consolidation of different research ideas and development directions
  
• Fostering possible international research and applied collaborations
  
• Assembling scholarly works for publication in conference proceedings or special reports
  
• Making recommendations to the government departments and health organizations in Hong Kong and other countries on infrastructural and other requirements for public and environmental health control.

For complete conference information, please visit http://geog.hku.hk/HealthGIS2006.

Have you joined CGIA for the 2006-07 year? If not, what are you waiting for?

CGIA extends a special "Thank You" to the California Resources Agency for their hosting of our web site. This special arrangement reflects the close working relationship that exists between our two organizations and our mutual interests in using geospatial technologies to improve government services.