MVCAC Legislative Conference & Spring Committee Meetings

March 20 – 22, 2022

Sacramento, CA

March 20th

• 3:00 to 5:00 PM – Check in & Meet and Greet; Pick up packets for Legislative Day

March 21st

• 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM – Training/Priority Review with Hot Breakfast Leg day visits (typically 8 am-3 PM)
• 3:00 to 6:00 PM – Committee Meetings

March 22nd

• 7:30 AM Continental Breakfast
• 8:00 AM to 5:45 PM – Committee Meetings

Draft Agenda is available now behind the member login here.

All of the information for Leg Day is on the Google Site.

Please also register here: https://forms.gle/3QHcmtbcrQyzYoJh8

Scheduling Legislative Meetings

• We are asking MVCAC members to schedule meetings directly with their legislators – there is a spreadsheet on the Leg Day site that has contact information for all of the Legislators
• Please determine which Legislative office you are the lead agency for, mark that down on the google sheet, and reach out to the Legislative scheduler to set up the meeting. If you can’t get a meeting with Legislator, please ask for a meeting with staff
• There is a sample email on the Leg Day site that you can use in your outreach
• We have identified key legislative committee members that would be great to meet with
• Please note that Legislators are currently in a temporary office called the “swing space” located at 1021 O Street (between 10th Street and 11th Street)

Training Sessions

• A virtual training session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15 @ 12 p.m. for those who have not participated in an in-person Leg Day before or want to learn more about this year's priority issues. (Join Zoom Meeting, Meeting ID: 851 8670 1241, Passcode: 513247)
• We will also review the materials and high-level information during breakfast on the morning of Leg Day (March 21) at the Holiday Inn.  

Materials

• There are bios for all 120 legislators on the Leg Day site as well as a memo with additional information with the new Legislators – please check those out before your meetings!
• We will be adding factsheets and talking points to the Leg Day site when they are complete
• If you are the lead agency, please pick up one Leg Day packet for each legislative meeting on Monday, March 20 from 3-5pm or at the breakfast on March 21

If you have any questions please reach out to Jeremy Wittie, Legislative Committee chair at jwittie@cvmosquito.org or Meagan Luevano, PR Committee chair at meaganl@placermosquito.org

Hotel Booking Information:

Phone: (916) 446-0100 Block code is MVC

Online: 2023 MVCAC Leg Day and Spring Meeting

Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown Arena

300 J St

Sacramento, CA 95814

MVCAC’s Budget Membership review meeting will be taking place on Monday, April 24^th from 10:00 am – Noon via Zoom.

Following that, the Spring Board Meeting, including voting on the budget, take place on May 4^th from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on Zoom.

Keep an eye out for the budget draft and board meeting details in late March. In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact MVCAC Executive Director Megan MacNee at mmacnee@amgroup.us.

Join us on Friday March 17th 9am-11am.

Part 1: Style and formatting instructions for authors 

Part 2: Converting your presentation to a paper

(Attend the session that best reflects your presentation type):

1. Operational

2. Experimental

3. Public Outreach

4. Programmatic

From the Capitol Weekly

February 24, 2023

BY BY WAKOLI WEKESA, PhD 

OPINION – Mosquito and vector control districts are on the front lines each day working to protect Californians from debilitating and deadly mosquito-transmitted diseases.

Invasive Aedes mosquitoes, which can transmit viruses that cause Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever, pose significant challenges. First detected in California in 2013, these invasive mosquitoes are now in 25 counties throughout the state from San Diego to Shasta and are very hard to control. Districts urgently need new tools that can help them immediately fight back.

In the past 10 years, no new tools have been approved in our state to assist mosquito control districts in fighting the spread of invasive Aedes mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is not demonstrating a sense of urgency to support research necessary to develop new tools to fight this difficult and expensive uphill battle. The timeframe it takes for disease-spreading mosquitoes to invade new regions is not in line with current regulatory standards for approval and such delays put our state very far behind.

While there has not yet been local transmission of Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever in California, the question is not if, but when. Looking at last year alone, the border state of Sonora, Mexico had more than 9,000 cases with 91 people dying from dengue in 2022 and while 750 Floridians acquired dengue while traveling, 57 people were infected at home because the mosquitoes that can transmit the virus are in their neighborhoods.

Read more

Registration NOW OPEN: PacVec Annual Meeting 2023!

MVCAC member districts are invited to the 6th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (PacVec) to be held April 6-7, 2023. The meeting will be an in-person event at the International Center on the campus of the University of California in Davis, California. Please mark your calendars and register for the meeting! 

Registration: https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5AXAtjSTfLK5ZK6.  

Please fill out the registration form above for each individual who will attend so that we will have a head count and contact information for everyone as the meeting approaches. Due to limitations on meeting space, please limit initial registrations to two attendees per agency. We will update this information closer to the meeting date if space allows.

Hotel rooms with discounted rates are available at both Hyatt Place UC Davis and Aggie Inn in Davis, CA. If needed, please book your hotel rooms at your earliest convenience (details below). 

PacVec is supported by CDC and serves the southwestern U.S., Hawaii, and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. Our goal is to improve the capacity of our region to respond to threats from vector-borne diseases through a combination of research, training, and collaboration. The PacVec annual meeting will include presentations on research progress and plans, current issues in vector-borne diseases in our region, and updates on training and engagement with our community of practice.

Please send questions anytime to questions@pacvec.us or to coordinator Celia Chen at celchen@ucdavis.edu.

Hotel Accommodations (be sure to book early):

Rooms with discounted rates are available at two hotels here in Davis. Below are the booking links along with brief descriptions of the hotel facilities. Both are excellent accommodations - Aggie Inn is downtown and a 16 min walk from the meeting site, and the Hyatt Place is on the UC Davis campus and a 21 min walk to the meeting site. If you want a specific hotel, note that each block of rooms is limited, and booking early is highly recommended. 

Aggie Inn is in Downtown Davis and conveniently located close to UC Davis. From a one-of-a-kind, cottage-style hotel, you can explore all that the area has to offer. The room blocks and discounted rates will expire on March 4, 2023. 

1.  Make reservations here or call the hotel directly and make a reservation at (530)-756-0352 using the group name: PacVec Annual Meeting 2023 and group number: GB49F1. 
2. Visit Google Maps for walking directions and location of the hotel.

Hyatt Place UC Davis is located on the UC Davis campus, next to the Mondavi Center, Manetti Shrem Museum and within walking distance to many campus facilities and Downtown Davis. Enjoy free breakfast by making reservations using the link provided below. Rooms are first-come, first-served (no specific expiration), so booking early is highly recommended!

1.  Make reservations here. Click on the “Book Now” button, enter your arrival and departure dates, and click the “Book Now” button again. Corporate or Group Code should autogenerate, but if not, please enter 31653 as the group code. 
2. Visit Google Maps for walking directions and location of the hotel and visit here for hotel location and transportation Information.

PacVec Training Grants – Proposals Due March 30!

The annual call for proposals for the PacVec training grant program is now open. Proposals are invited for training grants that are consistent with the PacVec mission and should address themes relevant for public-health policy. This year’s PacVec training grant program offers two different award types:

1. Curricular Enhancement in Public-Health Entomology
2. Mentored Research for Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

The application deadline is Thursday, March 30, 2023 by 11:59 pm PDT. Please visit the training grant website for details on eligibility, application requirements, and more. These grants are an excellent opportunity for collaboration between mosquito control or public health agencies and academic researchers at any college or university within our region. Interested agencies are encouraged to reach out to potential collaborators to discuss ideas for possible projects.

Summer Internship Program – Applications Due February 24!

PacVec is excited to announce the call for proposals for the new summer internship program. Proposals are invited for summer internship opportunities that are consistent with the CoE mission and should address themes relevant for public-health policy. Proposals must involve undergraduate summer internships that offer opportunities for practical training and experience in public-health entomology or related fields. Typically, undergraduate interns gain experience through summer work with a partner mosquito/vector control or public health agency, followed by mentored on-campus experience in laboratory methods, data analysis and scientific writing. Ideally, internships will culminate in networking opportunities and a presentation of results at a state or regional vector control or public health meeting such as the annual MVCAC conference.

The application deadline is Friday, February 24, 2023 by 11:59 pm PST. Please visit the internship program website for details on eligibility, application requirements, and more. MVCAC members who have ideas for internships are welcome to reach out ASAP to potential faculty mentor(s) at any of our seven PacVec universities (https://pacvec.us/meet-our-team/). Once internship opportunities are identified, mentors will be expected to help with development of project proposals and recruitment of interns from their university.