|
NEWS: May 9, 2011
Public Workforce | Utah
Lawmakers Restore Five-Day Workweek
Utah senators took the extraordinary step of convening Saturday night to effectively undo state government's four-day workweek, overrriding Gov. Gary Herbert's veto. Herbert's office had called the move back to a five-day workweek an "unfunded mandate."
>>
Salt Lake Tribune
Wisconsin Unions May Drop Official Status
If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's union bargaining survives legal challenges and forces do-or-die recertification votes for public-employee unions, some large unions might simply skip the votes and drop their official status with the state.
>>
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
New York Mayor Proposes Cutting 5,400 City Workers
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed laying off 5,400 city workers, including 5 percent of the city's schoolteachers, in what would be the first significant city job cuts in two decades.
>>
New York Times
 |
Elizabeth Warren |
Public Officials | The Nation
Consumer-Bureau Advocate
Likely to Head New Agency
Senate Republicans' promise to block anyone President Obama nominates to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has increased the likelihood that Elizabeth Warren--the bureau's chief advocate and the person many Republicans least want heading it--will get the job via a recess appointment.
>>
The Hill
Insider to Lead Beleaguered Chicago Buildings Agency
Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has chosen Michael Merchant, an insider in current Mayor Richard Daley's administration, to lead the city's scandal-scarred Department of Buildings.
>>
Chicago Sun-Times
Disaster Management | The Nation
Floods Bring Push for 'Natural River Defenses'
Flooding along the Mississippi River has highlighted limitations in the long-term strategy of hemming in rivers with levees and dams. A nascent movement is pushing for "natural river defenses," with cities and counties buying up homes and farms and relocating residents to restore flood plains and wetlands.
>>
Washington Post
Memphis, Delta Brace for Near-Record Flooding
With the rising Mississippi River threatening cities along America's longest river and prompting President Obama to declare a state of emergency in three states, Memphis and the Mississippi Delta region are bracing for their biggest floods in nearly a century.
>>
Christian Science Monitor
 |
Homeland Security | The Nation
'No-Ride List' Sought for Amtrak
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New Jersey called for a "no-ride list" for Amtrak trains after intelligence gleaned from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound pointed to potential attacks on the U.S. train system. Schumer also said he would push for added rail-security funding.
>>
Reuters
I.G.: DHS Acquisition Process Needs Work
The Department of Homeland Security has gaps and inconsistencies in oversight of its $55 billion worth of annual acquisitions, according to a report by DHS' inspector general.
>>
Federal Computer Week
DHS Grants Back Interoperable Border Communications
DHS is sending $25.5 million to seven communities along the borders with Canada and Mexico to test innovative ideas for interoperable communications across jurisdictions.
>>
Washington Technology
Health Care | Florida
Lawmakers Shift Medicaid to Managed Care
Florida's $22 billion Medicaid program likely will undergo fundamental changes with the legislature's approval of a reform package that shifts from paying providers for services to managed-care companies. Largely based on a pilot program in five counties, the statewide move is unprecedented among the states.
>>
Sunshine State News
Massachusetts Ruling Boosts Immigrant Health Care
Massachusetts highest court ruled that the state's exclusion of thousands of legal immigrants from subsidized health coverage probably violates the state constitution, and a legislative leader said the impact on the state budget could be significant.
>>
Boston Globe
Finance | Montebello, Calif.
Some of City's Bonds Hit with Junk Status
Moody's downgraded some of Montebello's bonds to junk status, another blow to a city already teetering on the edge of insolvency. The interim city administrator has predicted that the city will run out of cash if it does not secure a loan by the end of September.
>>
Los Angeles Times
Contracting | The Nation
More Vendors Protesting Contract Awards
Vendors that fail to win federal contracts and task orders are increasingly retaliating with bid protests. Last year marked the third straight year in which contract protests grew by more than 15 percent, according to the Government Accountability Office.
>>
Federal Times
Environment | Philadelphia
Radioactive Iodine in City Water Baffles Officials
Philadelphia's tap water has been laced with fluctuating levels of radioactive iodine since at least 2007, but city officials say they only recently learned of the problem and don't know how the carcinogenic isotope is getting into the water supply.
>>
Philadelphia Daily News
Technology | The Nation
State CIOs Honor Federal IT Leaders
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers honored federal CIO Vivek Kundra and federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra for their efforts to promote government performance excellence through technology and for reaching out to state- and local-government partners.
>>
Government Technology
Navy CIO: Improve Cybersecurity, IT Workforce
Improving cybersecurity and hiring and retaining a more skilled workforce are two of the Navy's priorities for its IT operations in the next 24 months, Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen says.
>>
InformationWeek
>> More news, analysis, resources and events: GovManagement.com
>> Follow GovManagement on Twitter
>> Share this edition:
|
SPONSOR
QUOTABLE
“It was not an easy time, but she did it with dignity, grace and looking out for the best interests of our people.”
Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, paying tribute to his predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Granhom, at the unveiling in the state Capitol of Granholm's official portrait, which contains images including a wind turbine for her pursuit of green energy, a rendition of the Chevy Volt electric car and apple blossoms--Michigan's official flower--to symbolize the struggling state's rebirth
>>
Detroit Free Press
 |
Leon Panetta |
VIEWPOINT
The Military
Gordon Adams
Panetta's Challenge
Leon Panetta may still be savoring the successful operation against Osama bin Laden in a month or two, but as the incoming defense secretary, he will have a major challenge of a different order: presiding over a defense build-down. The reductions that Panetta will have to carry out are inevitable, even necessary.
>>
Washington Post
DATAPOINT
70%
Percentage of Washington, D.C., voters who think the city's highest priority should be maintaining public services, while 23 percent think holding the line on taxes should be the top priority, according to a poll commissioned by a liberal think tank
>>
Washington Post
UPCOMING
American Enterprise Institute
Lecture: "Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is"
Today, 5:30-7 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Center for American Progress
Presentation on Ensuring the Long-Term Viability of the Military Health Care System
May 10, noon-1:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Governing magazine
Webinar on Next Generation Court Management and Cutting-Edge Law Enforcement
May 10, 2 p.m. ET
American Enterprise Institute
Discussion of Corporate Income Tax Reform: the View from the States
May 11, 9-10:30 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Heritage Foundation
Discussion of the 2012 Election and Re-Emerging Security Issues
May 11, 10-11 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Heritage Foundation
Discussion of Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why the Government Doesn't Understand It
May 11, noon-1 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Center for American Progress
Presentation on the Impact of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
May 11, noon-1:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Government Executive magazine
Webinar on Open Source and the Cloud
May 11, 2 p.m. ET
Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education
Program on the Art and Practice of Leadership Development: a Master Class for Professional Trainers, Educators, and Consultants
May 13-20, Cambridge, Mass.
Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education
Program on Women and Power: Leadership in a New World
May 15-20, Cambridge, Mass.
>> Full events listings
|
