The Chicago Tribune (10/6, Steffen, 488K) says a "handful" of Japanese-American "veterans and lawmakers joined Obama in the Oval Office where he signed the legislation awarding" the Congressional Gold Medal "to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, known as the 'Go for Broke' fighting units, as well as the 6,000 Japanese Americans who served in the Military Intelligence Services during WWII."
     Shinseki In Attendance At Signing Ceremony. KITV-TV Honolulu, HI (10/5) reported, "Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye, Reps. Charles Djou and Mazie Hirono attended the signing along with Kauai-born" Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. According to KITV, Inouye served in 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the "most highly decorated unit in American military history."

2.      Shinseki, Owens Told About Problems Transitioning From Military To VA Care. The WWNY-TV Watertown, NY (10/5, Rusho) website said that on Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and US Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) "heard first hand how difficult it can be to transition from military to VA care during a closed-door roundtable" with more than 20 local veterans in Watertown. WWNY added, "Secretary Shinseki is just the man to blend the systems together, said Owens." According to the YNN-TV Rochester, NY (10/5, Kelley) website, Shinseki and Owens "took down vets' personal information in hopes of helping them."

3.      Kansas Site Chosen For ARCH Project. In continuing coverage, the AP (10/5) said Pratt, Kansas, "will be the site of a pilot project designed to improve access to health care for veterans who live in rural areas. The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will conduct a 3-year program in Pratt to provide primary care and mental health care" to vets. After noting that the "project, called...Access Received Closer to Home," or ARCH, is "designed to serve veterans who live far from larger VA facilities," the AP added, "The Hutchinson News reports that the project also will help the agency determine whether contract care providers could help deliver health care to veterans."
     The Garden City (KS) Telegram (10/5), which runs the same story that appeared in the Hutchinson (KS) News (10/5, Green, 31K), pointed out that in a press release, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said Project ARCH will "provide critical information about the role of contracted care in the future of VA's health care delivery system."

4.      VA Awards Grant To Assist Veterans In Illinois. The Rockford (IL) Register-Star (10/6, 48K) reports, "Janet Wattles Center won a $153,000 award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to help local veterans pay for mental health services and daily living expenses. Federal officials recently awarded $41.9 million to agencies across 40 states," including Janet Wattles, which was "one of three agencies in Illinois to receive funds for beds in the center's housing program." WREX-TV Rockford, IL (10/5, 10:10 p.m. CT) aired a similar report.
     In a related letter to the editor of the Detroit Free Press (10/6, 224K), Michigan resident Merri Busch says VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has "announced that more than $41.9 million in grants is available to community groups to provide 2,568 beds for homeless veterans this year." Busch asks, "Wouldn't it be great if a disabled veteran-owned construction company rehabilitated the beautiful Grand Army of the Republic Building into a single-room occupancy hostel for homeless veterans using" the VA grant money?

5.      Hearing Focuses On VA Process For Presuming Service-Connection To Disabilities. In continuing coverage, the "Sgt. Shaft" column for the Washington Times (10/6, Fales, 77K) notes that US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "recently held an oversight hearing on the existing" Veterans Affairs "process for presuming service-connection for veterans' disabilities. Looking beyond the recent expansion of Agent Orange-related presumptions, witnesses and committee members discussed potential improvements to the process to be used in connection with possible exposures to future generations." The "committee's witnesses included" VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

6.      Oregon Governor To Honor Soldier Killed In Afghanistan. The Dalles (OR) Chronicle (10/6, Ricarte, 4K) reports, "Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski will deliver a state flag to the family of Army Chaplain (Capt.) Dale Goetz at Saturday's memorial service in Hood River to honor the fallen soldier. Kulongoski has also directed that flags at all public institutions across the state be flown at half-staff Oct. 9 in remembrance" of the 43-year-old Goetz, who "was killed Aug. 30 in a roadside bomb blast that also caused the death of four other soldiers in Helmand Province, Afghanistan."

7.      Facility In Alabama To Be Named After Decorated Vet. In continuing coverage, the Talladega (AL) Daily Home (10/6, Heath, 10K) reports, "The new veterans home to be built" in Pell City, Alabama, "now has a name and a tentative date to begin construction. According to Bob Horton, public information officer for the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, the Board of Veterans Affairs approved naming the facility the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home." Horton, who noted that Howard was "awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during" the Vietnam War, "said a tentative groundbreaking date has been set for Tuesday, Nov. 30."

8.      Virginia Program Assisting Wounded Vets. According to the Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star (10/5, Dennen), Claude Boushey "does a lot of listening as a veteran peer specialist with the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program." After stating Boushey "has found that veterans' top three concerns are jobs, finances and issues with Veterans Administration claims," the Free Lance Star added, "The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board last year received a $300,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services to set up the regional program to help combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury."

9.      Congressional Testimony Criticizes Government On Vet Employment Oversight. The Washington Post (10/6, Davidson, 605K) reports, "Testimony submitted for a congressional hearing last week demonstrated that employment of veterans with companies that do business with the federal government is an area that leaves much to be desired." The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity "heard witness after witness describe serious weaknesses with the government's oversight and enforcement of affirmative action laws and regulations designed to promote employment of veterans with private contractors." The Post notes that Jan R. Frye, a "deputy assistant Veterans Affairs secretary, said VA contracting officers rely on...electronic reporting to ensure that contractors are compliant with program requirements."

10.    Dartmouth To Pay $275,000 In Civil Settlement. In continuing coverage, the Burlington (VT) Free Press (10/5, 34K) reported, "Federal prosecutors say Dartmouth College has agreed to pay $275,000 to settle allegations of improper conduct involving the college's administration of contracts" at the Veterans Affairs hospital in White River Junction, Vermont. The "settlement was announced Monday by the US attorney for Vermont, Tristram Coffin." Dartmouth College "previously returned $604,000 in contract funds after irregularities were discovered."

11.    No Increased Cancer Rate Found Near Army Post In Maryland. The AP (10/6) reports, "Maryland health officials say there does not appear to be a higher rate of cancer near Fort Detrick than in the rest of Frederick County, though the chemical Agent Orange was tested there three decades ago and workers also dumped industrial chemicals there." During a public meeting held Monday night, Clifford Mitchell, the acting assistant director of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, "said...that a one-mile radius around the Army post has the rate of cancer he would expect."

12.    OIG: VA Needs To Improve Automated Processing Of Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.  Federal Computer Week (10/6, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department has been only partially effective in automating the processing of veterans' education benefits under the post-9/11 GI Bill, according to a new report" from VA's Office of Inspector General, which "applied the Project Management Accountability System (PMAS) to the automation project." Among other things, the "report recommends that: The assistant secretary for information and technology put in place an independent milestone review process to ensure oversight and support decision-making on project directions." Stephen Warren, "principal deputy assistant secretary for information and technology, said in an appendix that the IT office's officials agree with the findings and recommendations."

13.    Military Funeral Protest Case To Be Argued Before Supreme Court. In continuing coverage, the CBS Evening News (10/5, story 5, 2:50, Couric, 6.1M) broadcast that on Wednesday, justices on the US Supreme Court "take up a landmark case on the outer limits of free speech. The question is whether" the Westboro Baptist Church "has the right to protest at military funerals even if many Americans find their message outrageous, even hateful." Members of the church, who "believe God punishes America for tolerating" homosexuals, "repeatedly picket soldiers' funerals, carrying signs like 'Thank God for dead soldiers.'"
     USA Today (10/6, 1.83M) says the "high-profile" Snyder v. Phelps pits "Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine who was killed in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by the anti-gay fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church," against "Fred Phelps, the Westboro pastor who seeks national publicity for his opposition to gay rights. The fight between a bereaved father and provocative pastor has turned into a major test of speech rights vs. safeguards for the sanctity of military funerals. Snyder won a $5 million verdict against Phelps and his followers for his distress, but a federal appeals court overturned it on First Amendment grounds."
     The Army Times (10/6, Lamothe, 104K) says Albert Snyder and his "small team of lawyers will argue before" the US Supreme Court that Westboro Baptist, which has "protested at hundreds of military funerals, maliciously violated Snyder's right to mourn his son's death." The church uses the protests to spread its "core message: God kills US service members because of the country's tolerance for homosexuality." According to the Times, members of the church, which plans to argue that their protests are protected speech, "already have promised to protest Wednesday outside Supreme Court and at Arlington National Cemetery."
     USA Today: Siding With Deceased Vet's Father Would Set "Dangerous Precedent." In an editorial USA Today (10/6, 1.83M) says, "Allowing Snyder's lawsuit would set a dangerous precedent" when it comes to whether employers should "be able to win damages because strikers carry offensive picket signs," or when it comes to whether "women seeking an abortion" should get "paid for emotional distress, even when anti-abortion protesters at a clinic are standing at the distance required by law." USA Today argues that a "judicious outcome" in this case "would be for the court to define a reasonable buffer zone that protects the privacy of grieving families, while upholding the rights of Phelps and his followers to exercise their rights on public property." The Los Angeles Times (10/6, 681K), the Washington Post (10/6, 605K), and the Wall Street Journal (10/6, 2.09M) publish similar editorials.

     VFW Commander Says Father Was Harmed, Deserves Compensation. Richard L. Eubank, "national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States," argues in an op-ed for USA Today (10/6, Eubank, 1.83M) hat the "Snyder case is not about whether the government can prohibit the Phelpses from protesting." According to Eubank, Albert Snyder, who "asks merely that he be compensated" for harm, "presented evidence that the Phelpses' conduct made him vomit, interfered with his mourning process and worsened his diabetes. The First Amendment may exist to protect unpopular speech, but private lawsuits exist so that those who cause injury will be held accountable to their victims."
     In a similar op-ed for the Washington Post (10/6, 605K), Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler says that even if the First Amendment "allows one to spread hate through speech, it does not alter the wrongfulness of targeting a particular individual with that speech, whether by intentionally inflicting emotional distress on a grieving parent or by criminally invading a person's privacy during his most intimate moments. In deciding" Snyder v. Phelps, the Supreme Court "should be careful not to let the boundaries of our rights be set purely by those who wish to abuse them. To do otherwise would bring dishonor to those, like Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who fought to protect them."

14.    New VA Clinic Opens In Illinois. The Ottawa (IL) Daily Times (10/5, Stanley, 16K) said that while the "fanfare comes Friday" with "ribbon cutting and open house" for an expanded "La Salle Veterans Administration outpatient clinic," the facility, which has tripled in size, actually "opened for business Monday at 8 a.m. in its new home near Peru Mall." The Times pointed out that Vietnam vet Dan Ebker praised the clinic, calling it "fantastic."

15.    New VA Clinic Expected To Open In Texas Next Fall. The KRIS-TV Corpus Christi, TX (10/5) website said a "new veterans clinic in Corpus Christi is expected to be up and running by next fall. A Veterans Affairs spokesman says the facility will be built on Bear Lane." KRIS added, "Along with this new clinic, veterans can also expect a make-over at the clinic on Old Brownsville Road just a mile from where the new facility will sit." KZTV-TV Corpus Christi, TX (10/5, 5:06 p.m. CT) aired a similar report, while the Corpus Christi (TX) Caller Times (10/6, Savage, 51K) publishes a similar story.

16.    Former Head Of Iraqi Red Crescent Sues VA Over Dismissal From Bay Pines Hospital. According to the St. Petersburg (FL) Times (10/5, Danielson), a "largo doctor who took a leave to return to his native Iraq and eventually ran the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization is suing" the US Department of Veterans Affairs "over his dismissal from the Bay Pines VA Medical Center." On Monday, Dr. Said Hakki "filed the complaint" in US District Court in Tampa, "alleging...VA fired him at the direction" of the US State Department. The Times added, "A VA spokeswoman in Washington on Tuesday night referred questions about the suit to the Justice Department." UPI (10/6) also takes note of Hakki's lawsuit.

 17.    Two Men Fired From VA Jobs After Selling Scrap Metal To Help Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup. The Augusta, Maine-based Kennebec Journal (ME) (10/5, Adams) said 61-year-old David Gardner and 55-year-old Michael Ecker have been fired from their jobs at the Togus Veterans Affairs Medical Center, after they took scrap metal from the facility to "One Steel Recycling Inc., in Augusta, and sent $2,487 in proceeds from the sale to the Gulf oil cleanup operation. Both men, who also face a "pending theft conviction," had "worked at Togus from 1981 as waste-water treatment plant operators." Gardner and Ecker have "written to the VA inspector general, asking that the office encourage Togus administrators to become 'better stewards of the environment through increasing its recycling efforts and promoting a metal waste recycling program at its facility.'" The Waterville (ME) Morning Sentinel (10/5, Adams, 20K) and the Portland (ME) Press Herald (10/5, Adams, 59K) ran the same story, while the AP (10/5) published a similar one.

18.    Money Donated To Hampton VAMC. The WAVY-TV Norfolk, VA (10/5) website noted that on Tuesday, the "Disabled America Veterans in Hampton Roads presented" a $35,000 check to the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The "donated funds came from the Disabled American Veterans Combining Chapters Thrift Stores of Hampton Roads." WAVY quoted DeAnne M. Seekins, the hospital's director, who said donations help VA "through such programs as recreation therapy, welcome home events, homeless initiatives and the National Wheelchair Games." The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot (10/5, Clayton) also took note of the donation, as did reports aired by WVBT-TV Norfolk, VA (10/5, 10:33 p.m. ET) and WVEC-TV Norfolk, VA (10.5, 5:41 p.m. ET).

19.    More Equipment Stolen From VA Clinic Construction Site.  WBBH-TV Ft. Myers, FL (10/5, 11:06 p.m. ET) broadcast, "For the second time in five months, thieves" broke into the Veterans Affairs "clinic under construction" in Cape Coral, "stealing $40,000 in tools and building materials. Back in May, thieves stole $15,000 in copper and other equipment from that same site. No arrests have been made." WINK-TV Fort Myers, FL (10/5, 7:03 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.

20.    Classic Cars Make Pit Stop At VA Hospital. The WLOX-TV Biloxi, MS (10/5, Phillips) website noted that on Tuesday morning, an "annual salute to veterans brought hundreds of classic cars" to the Biloxi Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The "cruise-in at the VA has become one of the most popular venues during Cruisin' the Coast." According to WLOX, patients from the VA hospital "look forward to the annual visit from classic car owners," while "car owners see this annual pit stop" as an "opportunity to thank a veteran." A column in the Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald (10/6) also covers this story.

21.    Key Part Vets Hospital Doctors Played In Heart Pacemaker Development Noted. In the second item for its "Good Morning, Buffalo" column, the Buffalo News (10/5, Anderson, 174K) said, "Ailing hearts have been beating right on time for 50 years, thanks to a development that took place in Buffalo Veterans Hospital in 1960," when "surgeons Dr. Andrew Gage and Dr. William Chardack made the first successful implant of a heart pacemaker." The doctors devised the pacemaker in "collaboration with electrical engineer Wilson Greatbatch," who "went on to develop refinements in the batteries which power the pacemakers. Gage, now 88, will be honored in a special program from 2 to 4 p.m. in Millard Fillmore Hospital on Gates Circle."

22.    Veterans Affairs Years Behind Smart Card Mandate.  InformationWeek (10/6, Hoover).

23.    RP Congress Vows Continued Support For WWII Filvets. The Asian Journal (10/6).

24.    Mo. Veterans Homes Get $3.5M For Renovations. The St. Louis (MO) Business Journal (10/6) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded three grants totaling more than $3.5 million to the state of Missouri for renovation and safety projects at veterans homes in St. Louis, Cameron and St. James." The grants, which "were part of federal stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," will "cover 65 percent of the projects' costs."

25.    Georgia War Veterans Home To Receive Money For Upgrades. The Macon (GA) Telegraph (10/6) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday it will give a grant of $409,594 to the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville for patient safety upgrades." The money is "part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."

26.    Portland VA Office Moves Into New Digs. The Gresham (OR) Outlook (10/5) reports the Portland Veterans Affairs Regional Office "begins moving this week into its new home" on "100 S.W. Main St. The move starts Friday, Oct. 8, and should be completed by Tuesday, Oct. 12."

27.    Roseburg VA Golf Course To Close. The Roseburg (OR) News-Review (10/6, Bajandas).

28,    Garcia Receives Community Choice Award. The Pasadena (TX) Citizen (10/5) reports, "Pearland resident Dr. Aimée D. Garcia, director of the Wound Clinic and Consult Service" at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "was one of 16 medical experts in the United States chosen by the 100,000+ member QuantiaMD® community to receive its esteemed Community Choice Award for 'innovation and excellence in sharing knowledge.'"

29.    Shell-Shocked Dog Of War Finds A Home With The Family Of A Fallen Hero. A front page story in the Wall Street Journal (10/6, A1, Phillips, 2.09M).