NEWS: March 24, 2016
Public Health | Flint, Mich.
Governor's Task Force Blisters
State's Handling of Water Crisis
A task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder issued a blistering critique of his response to the Flint water-contamination crisis, accusing the governor's administration and others in state government of "failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice." The task force focused particularly on how Flint's affairs were handled while the city was under the control of emergency managers appointed by Snyder and called for a review of the state's emergency-manager law.
>> Detroit News
Court Refuses to Block Berkeley Law on Phone Radiation
A federal appeals court denied a request by cellphone companies to halt enforcement of a Berkeley, Calif., ordinance requiring retailers to tell customers that carrying switched-on phones next to their bodies might expose them to radiation levels above federal guidelines.
>> San Francisco Chronicle
Tax Administration | The Nation
Company: IRS Slowdown Due to Fraud Prevention
The Internal Revenue Process took three times as long to review and process tax returns in fiscal 2015 compared to previous years, according to a study by a fraud-prevention company saying new IRS fraud-prevention efforts account for the longer processing windows.
>> Federal News Radio
Cybersecurity | The Nation
GAO: HealthCare.gov Logged
More than 300 Cyber Incidents
HealthCare.gov logged 316 cybersecurity incidents from October 2013 to March 2015 and remains vulnerable to hacking, according to the Government Accountability Office, which said most of the incidents seemed to involve hackers but that none appeared to have led to the release of sensitive personal information.
>> AP/Yahoo News
Pentagon Cut Off Workers' Access to Private Webmail
Pentagon officials last week cut off employee access to commercial webmail services from the military's network for about 48 hours after a malicious, pervasive email campaign was spotted.
>> Nextgov
Businessman Pleads Guilty to Helping Chinese Hackers
A Chinese businessman pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to helping two Chinese military hackers carry out a series of thefts of sensitive military secrets from U.S. contractors.
>> Washington Post
Spending | Pennsylvania
Governor Ends 9-month Budget Impasse
Pennsylvania's nine-month budget impasse ended with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf saying he would allow a Republican-crafted appropriations bill to become law without his signature, releasing approximately $6 billion in state funding. Wolf said he would not sign the bill because he believes the budget is not balanced.
>> Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
New York Company Outsourced Digitizing of Personal Info
Threatening the privacy of millions, a Menands, N.Y., company that was awarded a $3.45 million state contract to digitize fingerprint records and other personal information outsourced the work to India, according to state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott.
>> New York Times
Election Administration | Maricopa County, Ariz.
Recorder Says She Won't Resign
over Handling of Primary Voting
County Recorder Helen Purcell took responsibility for the hours-long lines at the polls Tuesday that enraged voters but said she would not heed calls to resign over her handling of the presidential primary. Hours later, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton asked for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, saying county officials allocated one polling place for every 108,000 residents and that Anglo communities had more polling sites per resident.
>> Arizona Republic
Higher Education | California
UC Regents Reject Censure of Anti-Zionism
University of California regents approved a statement declaring that they would not tolerate anti-Semitism on campus but rejected a proposal to equate anti-Zionism with religious bigotry as they tried to defuse tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian students.
>> Reuters
Public Officials | Alabama
Governor Denies Allegations
of Sex with Female Political Adviser
Gov. Robert Bentley, responding to allegations from the former secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency who the governor had fired earlier in the week, admitted that he had made inappropriate remarks to a female political adviser but denied having participated in a "physical, sexual relationship" with her.
>> Montgomery Advertiser
Colo. Lt. Governor Nominee Says She Won't Seek Top Job
Donna Lynne, a Kaiser Permanente executive who was tapped by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to be his next lieutenant governor, said she has no plans to run for the top job in two years.
>> Denver Post
>> Follow GovManagement on Twitter
>> Share this edition: |
QUOTABLE
“Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, in a speech to congressional interns lamenting many of the political ills of the day--partisan tribalism, ideological "echo chambers," identity politics, coarse language and personal attacks--and faulting himself for having referred to the "takers and makers" in society when he was the GOP vice-presidential nominee in 2012
>> New York Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | More quotes
VIEWPOINT
Public Workforce | Howard Risher
Bonuses and Pandora's Box
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who chairs the House government oversight committee, may not appreciate it fully but his interest in the bonuses federal employees receive could open the Pandora's box of workforce management. The awards may be suspect, but they are only the result of underlying management weaknesses. When managed effectively, awards encourage employees to focus on organizational priorities. It's important to avoid simplistic conclusions.
>> Government Executive
PLUS: Charles Chieppo on playing fair with public-employee unions.
>> Governing | More commentaries
DATAPOINT
More than 500
The Air Force's current shortage of fighter pilots, a gap that is expected to widen to more than 800, according to Air Force officials who told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee that the shortage stems from a reduction in the number of active-duty fighter squadrons that each produce about four experienced pilots a year
>> Reuters | More data
UPCOMING EVENTS
American Enterprise Institute
Book event and discussion with retired Gen. Michael V. Hayden: "American Intelligence in the Age of Terror"
March 25, noon-1:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Engaging Local Government Leaders
Webinar: "The 10 Commandments of Town-Gown Relationships"
March 25, 1 p.m. ET
Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education
Program on Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies
March 28-April 2, Cambridge, Mass.
Rutgers University Institute on Anti-Corruption Studies
Webinar: "Green Cards for Sale? The Myths, the Truths and the Challenges of America's EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program"
March 28, 10 a.m. ET
Brookings Institution
Policy forum: "Strengthening Student Learning Through Innovation and Flexibility"
March 28, 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
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.
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.
Deloitte
Webcast: "Insider Threats: What Every Government Agency Should Know and Do"
March 30, 2 p.m. ET
>> Full events listings
|
