NEWS: April 8, 2010
Ethics | San Diego
Pension-Board Fraud Charges Dismissed
A federal judge dismissed fraud charges against five former members of the San Diego pension system in a ruling that for the second time this year shut down efforts by prosecutors to establish criminal responsibility for the city’s pension funding debacle.
MORE: San Diego Union-Tribune
Former Birmingham Mayor Imprisoned
Larry Langford, the former Birmingham, Ala., mayor and Jefferson County Commission president convicted of taking an estimated $235,000 in bribes, reported to a federal prison in Ashland, Ky.
MORE: Birmingham News

Mayor Nutter

Taxation | Philadelphia
Mayor Seizes Control
of Tax Board's Finances
Reasserting his authority over the Board of Revision of Taxes, Mayor Michael Nutter seized control of the embattled property-assessment agency's ability to spend money. The move came in response to the BRT's abandonment of a joint-management agreement that had given Nutter's staff day-to-day oversight of the agency.
MORE: Philadelphia Inquirer

Labor Relations | The Nation
Union-Agency Collaboration Plans Approved
The National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations approved 24 agencies' plans, more than half of the 45 submitted, to create forums fostering collaboration among unions and agency leadership. The council returned plans to 21 agencies for revision.
MORE: Government Executive

Technology | The Nation
Report: Big Savings from Cloud Computing
Federal and local-government agencies that have moved to cloud computing have generally achieved between 25 and 50 percent in savings associated with information-technology operations, according to a new Brookings Institution report.
MORE: Federal Computer Week
Virginia City to Shut Down Broadband Service
Manassas, Va., residents who rely on the city's broadband-over-powerline service will have to find a new provider after the city council voted unanimously to end the city's role as a telecommunications provider.
MORE: Washington Post

Health | Wisconsin
Governor Creates Health-Overhaul Office
Gov. Jim Doyle has created an Office of Health Care Reform to prepare for the sweeping changes from the federal health care overhaul that take effect in 2014. Those tasks will include developing an exchange where individuals and small businesses will be able to buy health insurance.
MORE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Study: Ground Zero Rescuers Lost Lung Function
Rescue workers exposed to thick clouds of dust after the attack on the World Trade Center had large drops in lung function lasting at least seven years, a study of nearly 13,000 workers has found.
MORE: New York Times

Public Officials | San Francisco
Man Arrested in Pelosi Threats

Speaker Pelosi

A San Francisco man arrested for allegedly threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her support for the health care overhaul has a history of making threats, according to prosecutors who say Gregory Lee Giusti made at least four dozen harassing and threatening phone calls to Pelosi's homes and her husband's office.
MORE: San Francisco Chronicle

Public Services | Houston
Saturday Closings Set for Libraries
Hammered by $2.2 million in budget cuts, the Houston Public Library system will reduce its hours by 28 percent—closing most of its 42 branches on Saturdays—and trim materials expenditures.
MORE: Houston Chronicle
Four Boston Library Closings Recommended
Boston Public Library President Amy E. Ryan recommended that four neighborhood branches be closed as part of an effort to eliminate a $3.3 million budget shortfall.
MORE: Boston Globe

Finance | The Nation
State Commissions Surviving Budget Cuts
Financially ailing states have zeroed in on what might seem a vulnerable cost-cutting target: countless advisory, advocacy and regulatory boards and commissions. Yet for all the cutting, far more boards are surviving scrutiny than succumbing to it.
MORE: New York Times

Environment | The Atlantic Basin
Forecasters Predict Eight Hurricanes
Colorado State University's hurricane forecast team is predicting an above-average season this year for the the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The Atlantic Basin forecast calls for 15 named tropical storms, of which eight are expected to become hurricanes.
MORE: USA Today
Wildlife Returning to Detroit River
Native wildlife is making a dramatic return in what might be considered the unlikeliest of places: the waters and shores of the Detroit River, where efforts to curb pollutants have produced a resurgence in bird, fish and animal populations.
MORE: Detroit News

More news, analysis, resources and events: GovManagement.com

QUOTABLE
“ I just want peace. I'm not looking to be popular.”
Betty Loren-Maltese, the former town president of Cicero, Ill., who is beginning a new career as a hostess at a pizzeria after being released from a federal prison for her role in a scheme that bilked the town of more than $12 million
Chicago Tribune | More quotes

DATAPOINT
921
Number of wounded military veterans, out of 77,000 that the Pentagon estimates are eligible, who had applied as of mid-March for better benefits in the two years since Congress, acting on concerns that the military was cutting costs by playing down injuries, ordered it to review disputed claims
AP/New York Times | More data

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
Public Works | Donald F. Kettl
Infrastructure's
Devil's Triangle
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the nation faces a $2.2 trillion backlog to repair and upgrade infrastructure. But there is a devil's triangle of cross-pressures conspiring to make a solution incredibly tough. It's the job of engineers and planners to build strategies. It's the job of politicians to find ways of doing what needs to be done.
MORE: Governing

UPCOMING EVENTS
Partnership for Public Service
Webinar on the Five Secrets to Effective Onboarding
Today, 11 a.m.-noon ET

International City/County Management Association
Web conference on Getting Citizens Involved in Tough Budget Choices
April 8, 1-2:30 ET

American Society for Public Administration
Annual Conference
April 9-13 | San Jose, Calif.

Federal Computer Week
Webinar on National Security and Cross-Domain Information Sharing
April 14, 2 p.m. ET

National Association of State Procurement Officials and Governing Magazine
How to Market to State Governments Meeting & Green Expo
April 18-20 | San Francisco

Government Executive magazine
Excellence in Government Conference
April 19 | Washington, D.C.

National Public Employer Labor Relations Association
Annual Training Conference
April 25-28 | New Orleans

Federal Managers Association
Business of Government Summit
April 26-28 | Washington, D.C.

National Association of State Chief Information Officers
Midyear Conference
April 28-30 | Baltimore

Full events listings