Happy Wednesday! A drop in holiday mail volume contributed to a $297 million net quarterly loss for the Postal Service in late 2009, officials said Tuesday. Estimates suggests the nation’s mail service will deliver 10 billion fewer pieces of mail compared to last year during the fiscal year that began in September. During the quarterRead… Read more »
Federal government offices in the Washington region will close on Wednesday for a third straight day, the longest run of snow days for the region’s federal workers since 1996. The decision means non-emergency federal workers will be granted excused absences, the Office of Personnel Management said. Emergency employees are expected to report for work onRead… Read more »
If you haven’t already heard (and if you haven’t I assume you live under a rock) Google is going to compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter with the soon to be released “Google Buzz”. Since Google has yet to activate “Buzz” within my Gmail account, I will save my opinions as it relatesRead… Read more »
Talk about phoning it in! Newly minted General Services Administrator Martha N. Johnson was formally sworn into office on Sunday evening — by telephone. Acting Administrator Steve Leeds called Johnson at her Annapolis home and administered the oath of office, the agency said Tuesday. Johnson’s husband, Steve, served as the official witness. The oath-of-office-by-phone isRead… Read more »
A vocal and well-prepared team of aerospace professionals and backers in California is gaining momentum in its quest to enhance the region’s aerospace prowess. Influential members from myriad economic development, utility, education, government, military, and defense contractor groups have pooled their talent, assets, know-how, and hefty political backing to form the California Space Authority (CSA)Read… Read more »
Richard Boly, Director of the Office of eDiplomacy at the U.S. Department of State, and I spent time chatting about the way the State Department is leveraging social strategies and tools to better manage and train State Department employees. Richard began his career in Silicon Valley where he gained a core belief in the powerRead… Read more »
An Office of Personnel Management Web page providing news on office closures was redirected Monday to a site with larger servers to cope with a crush of traffic from curious Web surfers eager to learn about the government’s operating status. Users who typed in www.opm.gov were redirected to www.data.gov/opm_status.html and an OPM status update pageRead… Read more »
So what would a new public servant look like in the States? Last weeks Public Sector Informant published an article by Terry Fewtrell on the implications of the work done by the Gov 2.0 Taskforce. Terry is principal consultant with Yellow Edge Consulting. The article New times demand a new public servant, highlights the fundamentalRead… Read more »
Issue Date: January 2010, Mover Achieving progress from the ground upVeteran behavioral health advocate Ronald W. Manderscheid, PhD, tackles the issues at the local level by Lindsay Barba, Associate Editor It’s a widely accepted idea that all politics is local, but if you ask Ronald W. Manderscheid, PhD, all healthcare is local, too. And withRead… Read more »
In recent hearings before the House Budget Committee, both Peter Orszag (OMB Director) and Jeffrey Zients (OMB Chief Performance Officer) have acknowledged the need to scrutinize “tax expenditures” — i.e. special tax breaks aimed at achieving specific policy goals. Mr. Zients even went so far as to express “100% agreement” with the notion of evaluatingRead… Read more »