NEWS: March 28, 2016
Public Workforce | The Nation
Audit: Paid Leave Cost DHS $20 Million
More than 100 Department of Homeland Security employees spent more than a year on paid administrative leave while not working between 2011 and 2015, costing DHS nearly $20 million, according to a new Government Accountability Office audit coming as the perceived overuse of administrative leave has drawn the ire of--and bipartisan action from--both the House and the Senate.
>> Government Executive
San Francisco Mayor Bans City Workers' Travel to N.C.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee banned city workers from non-essential travel to North Carolina over the state's new law preventing discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people.
>> AP/San Francisco Chronicle
Law Enforcement | Chicago
Morale, Pressure from Aldermen
Behind Mayor's Choice for Top Cop
As Mayor Rahm Emanuel evaluated the three finalists for Chicago's next police superintendent chosen by his hand-picked Police Board, two key factors emerged: the low morale of the city's cops and pressure from black and Latino aldermen to hire from within the department. Both dynamics helped lead Emanuel to reject the Police Board finalists and choose as interim superintendent Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson, a well-liked department veteran.
>> Chicago Tribune
Illinois State Police Swamped With Untested Evidence
The short-staffed Illinois State Police crime lab is grappling with a backlog of thousands of tests of biological evidence collected in rapes, murders and other crimes. At the end of February, nearly 3,100 cases were either untested or in the process of being tested.
>> Chicago Sun-Times
Stretch of U.S.-Arizona Border Left Unguarded for 2 Days
A 10-mile stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border was left unmanned for two days, allowing cartel members to cut a hole in the fence, drive two vehicles into the U.S. and escape, the Border Patrol union says.
>> Arizona Republic
Public Officials | The Nation
Defense Chief Kept Using
Personal Email Despite Inquiry
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter continued to use a personal email account for his government work for at least four months last year after the White House questioned the Pentagon about why he was using it, according to copies of Carter's emails released by the Defense Department. The Pentagon has long banned the use of personal email for official business.
>> New York Times, AP/Yahoo News
Santa Clara City Manager Quits After 3 Years
The Santa Clara, Calif., city council formally accepted the resignation City Manager Julio Fuentes, who had held the post for just over three years. Fuentes' departure, announced earlier this month, reportedly involves accusations of discrimination and tensions within City Hall.
>> San Francisco Chronicle
Salt Lake City Public Service Chief Quits After 1 Month
After less than a month on the job, April Townsend resigned as Salt Lake City's director of public services, reviving questions about Mayor Jackie Biskupski's decision to replace the city's widely respected veteran public services director, Rick Graham, with Townsend
>> Salt Lake Tribune
Technology Management | Kentucky
New Computer System
Disrupting Benefits for Many
A new state computer system meant to help people get public benefits more easily instead is creating turmoil throughout Kentucky, interrupting health coverage, food stamps or other assistance for countless individuals, according to health and social-service advocates. The Benefind system also has disrupted kynect, the state's highly successful health-insurance exchange.
>> Louisville Courier-Journal
IG: GSA's Free Email for Peace Corps Was Improper
The Peace Corps piloted the General Services Administration's email service for free, but GSA did not have the authority to offer the technology under those terms, an inspector general's audit found.
>> Nextgov
Higher Education | Berkeley, Calif.
Handling of Sexual-Misconduct
Cases to Get Closer Monitoring
University of California President Janet Napolitano announced new steps to closely monitor UC-Berkeley's handling of sexual-misconduct cases following outcry that campus administrators gave light sanctions to powerful faculty members, including a law school dean, a prominent astronomer and a vice chancellor, found to have sexually harassed students and staff.
>> Los Angeles Times
Student Loans for Defunct College Chain to Be Forgiven
The U.S. Education Department has cleared the way for former students at 91 campuses once owned by the now-defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges to have their student-loan debt forgiven.
>> Chronicle of Higher Education
>> Follow GovManagement on Twitter
>> Share this edition: | DATAPOINT
Just above $145,000
Average salary in the 2015-16 academic year for full professors in the fields of business, law and engineering who have tenure or are on the tenure track, the highest salaries among tenured and tenure-track faculty, according to a new survey of 743 public and private institutions by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
>> Chronicle of Higher Education | More data
VIEWPOINT
Election Administration | Michael P. McDonald
The Real Culprits in Our Voting Crisis
It was bad enough that some Arizona voters had to stand in line for up to five hours after the polls closed in their state's primary election. Then it got worse: When asked who was to blame, Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell replied, "The voters for getting in line, maybe us for not having enough polling places." An election official blaming voters is appalling. These people were heroes of democracy. The real blame lies with sweeping failures across our local, state and federal governments.
>> USA Today
PLUS: Terry Ao Minnis and Adam Ambrogi on the language barrier in the voting booth.
>> Governing | More commentaries
QUOTABLE
“That doesn't mean it's time for a victory lap or anything like that.”
Ryan Gallucci, a deputy director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, saying there is still work to do to improve employment of military veterans despite a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics saying that the annual unemployment rate for the latest generation of veterans in 2015, 5.8 percent, was the lowest ever recorded by far
>> Military Times | More quotes
UPCOMING EVENTS
Veterans Policy
Field of Study
This Wednesday | 1 p.m. ET
Raun Lazier and Nathan Williamson of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Policy and Planning will highlight areas where academics and practitioners can collaborate and will outline actions for developing a field of study for issues affecting veterans and their families. For more information or to register, click here. |
Brookings Institution
Policy forum: "Strengthening Student Learning Through Innovation and Flexibility"
Today, 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Brookings Institution
Online discussion: "Reading and Math in the Common Core Era"
Today, 4-4:30 p.m. ET
American Enterprise Institute
Lecture by Karl Zinsmeister and book event: "Indispensable: How philanthropy Fuels American Success"
Today, 5:30-6:45 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Center for State and Local Government Excellence and Council of State Governments
Webinar: "The Facts on Public Pensions"
March 29, 2 p.m. ET
Governing
Webinar: "The Modern City: Building Community through Development and Technology"
March 29, 2 p.m. ET
Heritage Foundation
Conference: "The Role of Intelligence"
March 30, 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Center for American Progress
Address by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx: "Bridging the Divide: a Transportation Plan for the 21st Century"
March 30, 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Urban Institute
Data talk: "Harnessing Credit Bureau Data for Research: Boomerang Buyers and Strategic Defaulters"
March 30, 12:30-2 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
American Society for Public Administration
Webinar: "Veterans Policy Field of Study"
March 30, 1 p.m. ET
Deloitte
Webcast: "Insider Threats: What Every Government Agency Should Know and Do"
March 30, 2 p.m. ET
>> Full events listings |
