Surprisingly low vendor turnout at the inaugural Health Insurance Exchange Congress Conference

Deltek Analyst Amanda White reports. The inaugural Health Insurance Exchange Congress Conference, spearheaded by the Institute for International Research (IIR) USA, was held November 9-11 at the Hilton Baltimore. The conference, which gathered state health officials, commercial health plan executives and Medicaid health plan executives, was built off the success of IIR’s Medicaid Managed CareRead… Read more »

A Thousand Cuts

Government Executive magazine’s cover story, “A Thousand Cuts,” by Joseph Marks, paints a graphic picture of what it is like to be in government today. Here’s a list of the various directives that direct many of these cuts. President Obama’s Campaign to Cut Waste was launched in June 2011, but it started earlier than that.Read… Read more »

How To: Operate a 30 MW Solar Array

It may look like the solar panels just sit there, but a lot goes on before and while the “farm” goes on-line. From concerns about weather to maximizing efficiency of the array, this video gives you a look inside what it takes to keep this 30 MW solar farm running. Thanks to cnet for theRead… Read more »

How Are You Using Google +?

There has been a lot of buzz about Google +’s new branded pages. We’ve heard of a number of Federal agencies who have jumped on the band wagon and created pages. My question is how are you making your decision to move to Google+ and how are you using these pages. Please take a momentRead… Read more »

Tuesday’s political law links

HUNTSMAN: THANKS, DAD. The Times. “Providing perhaps a last-chance boost to the flagging presidential hopes of former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, an outside group that is supported by his father, a billionaire chemical executive, and other wealthy backers plans a major advertising campaign on his behalf in New Hampshire starting on Tuesday.Read… Read more »

International Open Data Hackathon Updates and Apps

With the International Open Data Hackathon getting closer, I’m getting excited. There’s been a real expansion on the wiki of the number of cities where people are sometimes humbly, sometimes grandly, putting together events. I’m seeing Nairobi, Dublin, Sydney, Warsaw and Madrid as some of the cities with newly added information. Exciting! I’ve been thinkingRead… Read more »

DC LERA

Please consider attending the monthly luncheon of the DC Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association on Wednesday Nov 16. More information about the luncheon and DC LERA can be found at http://www.dclera.org/. For information about the Labor and Employment Relations Association, see http://leraweb.org/. Thanks

Supreme Court to hear health care reform challenge

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Several states have been involved in a variety of different challenges to the law, and so far, appeals courts have been split on their assessments creating a need for a final ruling from the Court. The move is likely to create electoral challengesRead… Read more »

Speaking or Lecturing Between the Adult “Glee” Practice and BINGO

It was an amazing experience. Perhaps, “amazing” isn’t the right word, but it was an experience I will never forget. Nor should you if you ever decide to speak or lecture on a cruise ship. Sounds like great fun. It can be, I’m sure; however, my first experience was a learning environment for me personally.Read… Read more »

Designing Open Data for Simplicity

Just saw this tweet by @mat_hunter the Chief Design Officer at the @DesignCouncil. I went to the first event of the Inspire Connect series hosted by the Design Council and organised by @amandagore and her @dcchallenges team as part of it’s “Living Well with Dementia” Challenge Competition. 1. The issue of dementia is very personalRead… Read more »

Miscellaneous