I was fortunate to be able to attend parts of this year’s conference of state health officers in Portland. Each year the folks in my job get together with the CDC and other federal partners and public health support organizations to strategize about the coming year’s national public health priorities and share best practices and resources.  The meetings are always very useful- and I’m always able to bring back concrete and practical ideas to help us with our mission.  This year’s conference was captured on-line with minute-to-minute coverage of the meeting. Also, presentation slides and other support materials will be posted online at www.astho.org/annualmeeting by early next week.