Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

1.      VA Assists Homeless Vets In New Jersey. The Orange, New Jersey-based Local Talk News (10/27) reports, “Mayor Cory A. Booker and GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous announced that the City of Newark’s G.I. Go Veterans Transition Center, Stand Down of North Jersey, Inc., the New Jersey State National Guard, the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the federal Veterans’ Administration were able to provide assistance to more than 600 veterans and their dependents…during the annual ‘Northern New Jersey Stand Down for Homeless Veterans.'” According to the News, the event was held “on Saturday, October 16.”

 2.      Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing VA Benefits. According to the Willoughby (OH) News-Herald (10/26, 34K), 61-year-old Chuck Restivo is “awaiting sentencing following his guilty plea to converting nearly $50,000 of his dead mother’s benefit payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs for his own use.” The “total loss to the Department of Veterans Affairs is approximately $49,003.”

 3.      National Japanese American Memorial Foundation To Honor Translator Vets. The AP (10/27) reports, “The National Japanese American Memorial Foundation plans” to give its Award for Patriotism to Military Intelligence Service (MIS) “veterans at its annual luncheon” in Washington, DC, on November 4th. Some “6,000 Japanese-Americans served with the MIS: during World War II, “helping translate Japanese military documents and interpret interrogations of Japanese prisoners. Their work was little known until it was declassified in the 1970s.”

 4.      Bay Pines VA Hosts “Night Out” For Female Veterans. The WUSF-TV Tampa, FL (10/26, O’Brien) website said that while there are “veteran services specifically designed for women” veterans, “too few know about the benefits.” So, the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Health Care System was to host a “‘night out’ on Tuesday” that included “treats like free massages and makeovers as well as information on benefits and services for women vets.” The event was scheduled to be held “from 5 to 8 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church Activity Center, 11220 Oakhurst Rd., Largo.”

 5.      Report Finds More Homeless Female Vets In San Diego. The KNSD-TV San Diego, CA (10/26, Hood) website noted on Tuesday, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness “released its 2010 annual report,” which “says the number of homeless people in San Diego has risen 11.6 percent since 2008. The report showed a growing trend of homeless female veterans.”

 6.      Alleged Plotters Of Attack On VA Hospital Undergoing Evaluation. In continuing coverage, the Dayton (OH) Daily News (10/27, Beyerlein) reports, “Two men who were taken into custody Monday in connection with an alleged plot to attack the Dayton VA Medical Center with assault weapons have been ‘hospitalized for evaluation,’ according to a spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Columbus.” On Tuesday, Fred Alverson “said…that no charges have been filed. ‘That’s a decision that we won’t be making until after the evaluations,'” he added.

 7.      VA Planning To Reopen Clinic Closed By Hurricane Damage. According to the Houston Business Journal (10/26, Wollam), the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center “plans to reopen a VA outpatient clinic in Texas City next spring.” The clinic “closed due to damages from Hurricane Ike in 2008.”

 8.      VA Hospital To Co-Host Homeless Vets’ Assistance Event. According to the WCSC-TV Charleston, SC (10/26) website, the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center and “Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina are taking the fight against homelessness to the streets on October 28 and 29 with their 11th annual Stand Down Against Homelessness at Armory Park in North Charleston from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The annual event,” which “provides medical and dental screenings and assistance, clothing, food, haircuts, and job and legal counseling for hundreds of homeless persons in the greater Charleston area,” is “open to the entire community.”

 9.      VA Hospital Hosts CFC Fall Fest. The WDTV-TV Bridgeport, WV (10/26, Porter) website noted that on Wednesday, the Veterans Affairs hospital in “Clarksburg held its first CFC Fall Fest,” which allows Federal “employees to donate to their charities of choice.”

 10.    Lawmakers Pleased VA Hospital Will Not Change Mileage Reimbursement Policy. In continuing coverage, the Albany (OR) Democrat Herald (10/26) reports, “The Veterans Administration has dropped a proposed change in reimbursement policy that would have been trouble for some veterans. The change was announced last week by members of Oregon’s” congressional delegation, who “said they were pleased that Director John Patrick of the Portland VA Medical Center had agreed to drop the proposal.”