Client Focus

Alex Betke, who has extensive experience securing federal grant funding for clients, recently offered his insights into the return of earmarks, funded for the first time in more than a decade as part of the Federal FY23 budget. Safeguards have been put in place to prevent scandals associated with earmarks in the past and the grants are now call Community Projects Funding. Some Members of Congress have begun to accept applications for funding in the FFY24 budget. https://empirereportnewyork.com/community-projects-funding-round-2-federal-money-for-local-projects/

Ron Greenberg recently interviewed former FireEye and McAfee CEO and NightDragon Managing Director, Dave DeWalt about the need for governments to strengthen their cybersecurity protections. Among DeWalt's comments: "We are living in the highest threat environment in history. In 2021, we saw an unprecedented number of ransomware attacks, averaging about 4,000 a day. These attacks targeted hospitals, schools, food, and fuel suppliers and more. Within state and local organizations, we are seeing a ransomware attack every 33 seconds, on average. Some of these attackers are given safe harbor in countries like Russia, China, and other places around the world where there will not be any law enforcement response." https://empirereportnewyork.com/state-and-local-organizations-under-attack-from-cyber-criminals/

City & State has made available a recording of the webinar Establishing A Successful Cannabis Marketplace: Best Practices for A Collaborative Approach. The discussion among BrownWeinraub clients METRC and Nabis, as well as the head of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association was moderated by Emily Whalen. https://www.cityandstateny.com/feature/Establishing-A-Successful-Cannabis-Marketplace/