Yearly Archives: 2011

FEDERAL HEALTH CARE RATES INCREASE AS WAGES STAY FROZEN

Higher premiums, fewer options await FEHBP enrollees Health care premiums under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will increase an average of 3.8 percent in January – a significant hike for federal employees and retirees who are enduring frozen wages and cost-of-living adjustments, American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage said today. ThisRead… Read more »

Tearing the heart out

I feel like I’m watching the biggest game of skittles. My favourite guilty pleasure is a carrot cake cupcake from a place called Huntleys which is a local farm shop which also supplies us with potatoes familiar with soil and bread familiar with real hands. Not as rare up here as some people might likeRead… Read more »

Is a law degree really worth it?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/26/living/reasons-against-law-school/ I know that there are Penelope Trunk lovers and haters. To me, she is a writer that states her opinions, and sometimes in inflammatory ways that get people riled up. The article she recently wrote for CNN (link above) though really caught me: in my undergrad, my business law professor told me that IRead… Read more »

The Role of the Facilitator in Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice

[This is cross-posted from Communities & Collaboration blog] I had the honour of being invited to present at the XIII Seminari Compartim L’e-moderador i altres nous agents de coneixement a les organitzacions on 21st September 2011 (Ministry of Justice, Spain). This post is a brief preamble to my presentation. Background My experience of knowledge sharingRead… Read more »

What’s Important in Forest Planning?

The 2011 Proposed Planning Rule outlines and discusses the forest planning processes that Forest Service units must follow. If it is adopted, it will replace the 1982 Planning Rule. You haven’t seen the Proposed Rule? You can find it here –> fs.USDA.gov/planningrule. So what’s important about it? Oh, don’t bore me with another academic comparisonRead… Read more »

Women in Government: Oveta Culp Hobby

Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby was a pioneer for women in government. She was the first woman to serve in the cabinet of a Republican President, the first head of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the first Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW eventually split and became Department of Health and Human ServicesRead… Read more »

Part-time workers closing the gap for state government

According to census data, cash strapped state governments are firing public employees and replacing them with part-timers at an increased rate. Census numbers show that nationwide, state governments have lost over 200,000 public employees leaving much of the work to be done by part time employees. Many states are grappling with the cost of pensionsRead… Read more »

The City Bus System, Redesigned

Ten Years After Redefining BRT, What’s Next for TransMilenio? from Streetfilms on Vimeo. We’re always on the lookout for new, innovative urban transit systems. TransMilenio, captured by Streetfilms, more than fits the bill. Original post

States, Localities Inspire Federal Data-Driven Management

The New York City Police Department launched it vaunted CompSTAT more than a decade ago. This data-driven management approach inspired dozens of other cities and several states to adopt it to run their operations as well. Now it is being pioneered in federal agencies and will likely spread quickly with the encouragement of Congress andRead… Read more »