NEWS: July 6, 2010

Health Care | Massachusetts
Discord Sidetracks Health-Payment Plan
Massachusetts' ambitious first-in-the-nation plan to transform how hospitals and doctors are paid is on hold, at least for this year, largely because of disagreements among key officials, legislators and providers over how best to control health-care spending.
MORE: Boston Globe

John Chiang

Public Workforce | California
Controller: Minimum-Wage Move
Too Hard for State Computers
A state appellate court ruled in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to cut most state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour until a budget is enacted, but Controller John Chiang says the state's computers can't handle the technological challenge.
MORE: Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle
Massachusetts Cities, Towns Laying Off Hundreds
Hundreds of city and town employees, including librarians, police and teachers, are being laid off across Massachusetts as reductions in state aid to localities force communities to cut back.
MORE: Boston Globe

Labor Relations | The Nation
As Teachers' Unions Convene, No Feds in Sight
For two years as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama addressed educators gathered for the summer conventions of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. But in a sign of strained relations, no federal official was scheduled to speak at either convention this month.
MORE: New York Times

Elizabeth Warren

Public Officials | The Nation
Consumer Bureau Chief to Set
Powerful New Agency's Path
The first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Congress is set to create will play a critical role in determining how the powerful new agency works. Democratic congressional leaders' top pick is Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken critic of what she sees as a too-cozy relationship between government and bankers.
MORE: Wall Street Journal

Technology | The Nation
Federal Web Portal Gets Sweeping Overhaul
The federal government unveiled a sweeping redesign of its official portal website, USA.gov. The redesign, notable for featuring 18 downloadable mobile-phone apps, represents the most significant change to the site since its debut almost a decade ago, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra said.
MORE: Federal Times
Colorado Glitch Bumps Thousands Off of Medicaid
Colorado state workers were working their way through computer records, changing files manually, to bypass a computer glitch that inadvertently bumped more than 2,600 parents off Medicaid and denied eligibility to new applicants.
MORE: Denver Post

Ethics | Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Embattled Auditor Fires Ex-Aide's Relatives
County Auditor Frank Russo fired two relatives of Santina "Sandy" Klimkowski, a former Russo aide who implicated Russo in a million-dollar bribery scheme. Russo's chief operating officer said the firings were not related to Klimkowski's role in the probe.
MORE: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Philly Police Whistleblower Sues over Firing
The former chief inspector for Philadelphia's Police Advisory Commission filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was forced from his job last year in retaliation for helping the Philadelphia Daily News report alleged wrongdoing by narcotics officers.
MORE: Philadelphia Daily News

Law Enforcement | Texas
Red-Light Camera Backlash Growing
Red-light cameras have brought Texas cities more than $103 million in fines since 2007, and the cities insist that the cameras have cut accidents and saved lives. But the rising revenue totals have fueled a public backlash and reinforced perceptions that the main impetus for the cameras is money.
MORE: Dallas Morning News
Detroit Gang Squad Being Slashed
The Detroit police department's gang squad, under fire for its treatment of city residents, is being reduced in size by two-thirds, and its members now will be required to wear uniforms.
MORE: Detroit Free Press

Human Services | California
Casino, Strip-Club ATMs Off State Network
Nearly 200 ATMs in casinos and strip clubs have been removed from the network that allows access to California welfare benefits with state-issued debit cards, and the ban may be extended to bingo halls, racetracks, gun stores and massage parlors.
MORE: Los Angeles Times

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

DATAPOINT

B+
Original grade given in 1958 by a high school teacher to Lancaster, Ohio, teenager Robert Heft, who later served for 28 years as mayor of Napoleon, Ohio, and died last December, for his design of the 50-star American flag that ultimately was adopted after Alaska and Hawaii became states
Aol News | More data

Citizen Jefferson

QUOTABLE

“Subjects”
The word Thomas Jefferson used in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence to describe the people of the 13 colonies and then methodically expunged from the document, smudging it out and replacing it with "citizens," a change confirmed by research scientists at the Library of Congress using spectral imaging technology
Washington Post | More quotes

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

Leadership | Bill Bott
Revolutionary Innovation
By cutting grooves into the barrels of their rifles--an innovation borrowed from the Germans--America's revolutionary patriots were able to shoot farther and more accurately than the mighty British redcoats. Today, to fight the tyranny of bureaucracy, we need better rifles. We need to borrow innovations from our counterparts in the private sector.
MORE: Governing

UPCOMING

GovLoop and Young Government Leaders
Next Generation of Government Summit
July 6-7 | Arlington, Va.

American Federation of Teachers
National Convention
July 7-11 | Seattle

National Governors Association
Annual Meeting
July 9-12 | Boston

Association of Government Accountants
Professional Development Conference & Exposition
July 11-14 | Orlando, Fla.

Governing magazine
Breakfast discussion on Customer Service and Citizen Engagement
July 13, 8 a.m. ET | Tallahassee, Fla.

Partnership for Public Service
Public Service Career and
Internship Fair
July 14 | Washington, D.C.

National Association of Counties
Annual Conference & Exposition
July 16-20 | Reno, Nev.

National Association of Secretaries of State
Summer Conference
July 17-20 | Providence, R.I.

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

Full events listings