by Megan Degeneffe, SF2011 Soon after starting work at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) I noticed something strange. I work in the Water Conservation Section, a group dedicated to helping San Francisco customers reduce their water use. The SFPUC, however, is funded by selling water to ratepayers. The paradox is clear- I workRead… Read more »
by Meg Degeneffe, SF2011 Last week I felt like I made a difference in my city. Last week the Fellows presented on our final project: analyzing recidivism in San Francisco. Recidivism is a huge challenge facing cities, with most studies showing 50% to 80% of those released from custody re-offend. Unfortunately, a comprehensive analysis ofRead… Read more »
by Dani Fitts San Francisco Fellow ’11 In my time here at San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors has held two hearings entitled “Report of Assessment Costs for Blighted Properties”. During these hearings property owners are given the opportunity to object to fines levied against them for failing to remove blight from their properties. IRead… Read more »
by Whitney Ramos, SF2011 When I came across an article about the first University of San Francisco McCarthy Center Bay Area Survey, I immediately found the full report on the USF website. The trigger for my interest was a discussion of how much trust Bay Area residents have for the people who run their cities.Read… Read more »
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series by SF2011 Fellow Marielle Earwood on lessons she has learned working on San Francisco’s Urban Watershed Framework, inside the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. by SF2011 Fellow Marielle Earwood My role as the Urban Watershed Framework (UWF) Coordinator has been to keep track of theRead… Read more »
The non-profit, non-partisan Americans Elect aims to flatten the US Presidential nominating process and the duopoly of the two party system. By leveraging cyberspace to ’open up’ the nominating process (traditionally controlled by political forces and parties), Americans Elect enables the voting public to directly nominate a candidate online, for the US Presidential ballot inRead… Read more »
In recent weeks, the main stream media has questioned whether the Obama administration’s Open Government initiative has lost its steam. But is it really dead? For example, Washington Post columnist Vivek Wadhwa’s article “The Death of Open Government” followed the resignation announcement of the federal government’s chief information officer – and Open Government champion —Read… Read more »
The average age of my agency’s employees is high. With retirements increasing, we will need to recruit and hire younger employees. What is the recruiting pitch that will appeal to younger employees? How do you entice them to join your agency? – Federal Manager (GS-15), Department of Veterans Affairs This is a great question. RecruitingRead… Read more »
During childhood, our parents instill in us the concept of minding our manners. In my house, this meant simple things like saying please and thank you, not interrupting when someone was speaking, and being generally respectful of others. It seemed like every time I left the house my mother would say “have fun and mindRead… Read more »
The video above gives a great overview of a DOE-sponsored University of Washington project being conducted in Puget Sound to study the viability of tidal power in the area and establish a baseline to evaluate environmental impacts of the turbines. For more information on the project, visit the UW site. Original post