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NEWS: April 6, 2012
IRS Chief: Staffing Short to Maintain Old IT Systems The Internal Revenue Service's information technology has long been dramatically underfunded, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman says, and some of the IT systems at the foundation of its tax-processing system are so old that it is running out of employees who understand how they work. >> Federal News Radio Public Workforce | The Nation Lawmakers Slam GSA Employee-Rewards Program The General Service Administration's troubles may extend beyond revelations of a lavish employee junket. House Republicans said an employee-rewards program in the GSA's Pacific Rim Region handed out "at least $200,000 worth of taxpayer funded iPods, gift cards and other valuable items ... for questionable reasons at best." >> Government Executive Union Chief: Chicago Teachers Ready to Strike Chicago school officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have created such a "hostile" climate that teachers in 150 schools have voted overwhelmingly in mock ballots to support a strike should contract negotiations fail, teachers' union President Karen Lewis said. >> Chicago Sun-Times Municipal Finance | Orange County, Calif. State: County Illegally Diverted $73.5 Million Orange County officials illegally diverted $73.5 million from local schools and colleges and used the money to balance the budget and cover day-to-day expenses, state officials alleged in a lawsuit. County Supervisor Bill Campbell said the move was justified and legal. >> Los Angeles Times Detroit Must Hire CFO, Program Management Director With the Detroit city council's approval of a consent agreement with the state, Mayor Dave Bing now has six days to create the positions of chief financial officer and program management director and then 30 days after that to hire the people for the positions. >> Detroit Free Press
Three College Students Now Frontrunners for School Board Three college students, Edward Burroughs III, Raaheela Ahmed and David Murray--two of them teenagers and one a 20-year-old--crushed their opponents in the county school board primary races and now are the front-runners heading into November's general election. Ahmed defeated school board Chairman Jeana Jacobs. >> Washington Post Chicago College Bans Media Contact by Faculty, Staff The publicly funded Chicago State University has instructed its faculty and staff that only authorized university representatives can share information with the media and that everything from opinion pieces to social-media communications could require prior approval. >> Chicago Tribune Virginia College Shuts Down Amid Federal Accusations ACT College, a northern Virginia for-profit vocational school, shut down amid federal allegations of financial mismanagement and withholding of students' federal financial-aid money. >> Washington Post
Mayor Hospitalized for Embolisms Mayor Dave Bing has been readmitted to Henry Ford Hospital and is being treated for an acute pulmonary embolism in each lung as he recovers from surgery to correct a perforated colon, according to the mayor's doctors, who offered a positive prognosis. >> Detroit News Defense Secretary's Trips Home Costly Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reimbursed about $17,000 to the Treasury for frequent travel to his California home, trips that cost the federal government some $860,000 because he is required to fly on military jets that cost about $3,200 per flight-hour to operate. >> Reuters Border Security | The U.S.-Mexico Border 3 Plead Guilty to 'Fast and Furious' Gun Trafficking Three men pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking high-powered rifles and other guns to Mexico from Arizona under the botched "Fast and Furious" federal sting operation that allowed more than 2,000 U.S. bought weapons to slip across the border in 2009 and 2010 and that has been tied to the murder of a U.S. federal agent. >> Reuters DHS Accidentally Released Border Contractor Data Department of Homeland Security officials accidentally released information that may have contained proprietary contractor data related to a Southwest border video-surveillance project, prompting officials to delete online documents and block a website. >> Nextgov
Appeals Court Panel to Probe Federal Judge over Obama Email The chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed a special judicial committee to investigate misconduct allegations against Montana Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, who sent an email from his chambers that contained a racist and misogynistic joke about President Obama's mother. >> Great Falls Tribune Michigan City School Board Member Charged with Theft Highland Park, Mich., school board member Robert Davis, an activist who repeatedly challenged the state's attempted restructuring of Detroit's finances, was indicted on charges that he stole more than $125,000 from the cash-strapped school district. >> Detroit News FBI Probe of Arizona A.G. Preceded Whistleblower The FBI was investigating state Attorney General Tom Horne in January, at least a month before a disgruntled employee in his office alleged campaign-law violations by the state's top prosecutor. >> Arizona Republic Ex-CIA Officer Accused of Leaking Secrets John C. Kiriakou, a former CIA officer who expressed public doubts over the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique, was indicted on charges that he leaked classified secrets to journalists. >> AP/Military Times >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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DATAPOINT
Almost 3,000 Percent Increase in population density from 1940 to 2000 around the Mojave National Preserve in California, which was among many national parks that saw large increases in nearby population during the period, according to researchers at Montana State University >> AP/Yahoo News | More data VIEWPOINT Leadership | Jim Clifton and Stephen Ander To Fix Management, Hire Better Managers News about low morale at the Department of Homeland Security is alarming, given the significant role DHS plays in our safety. Recommendations that DHS develop its leaders and improve its communications won't solve the systemic problems rooted in poor management. The long-term solution involves overhauling the hiring and selection of managers. Gallup researchers have discovered that there actually is a silver bullet: Simply name the right manager for the job. Nothing fixes a manager who has little talent for the task at hand. >> Gallup/Government Executive | More commentaries QUOTABLE “We find people, and it saves lives.” Roxann Ryan, a criminal analyst with Iowa's state intelligence branch, on the widening use of cellphone tracing by law enforcement, a practice that civil-liberties advocates say raises legal and constitutional issues, particularly when police act without court oversight >> New York Times | More quotes UPCOMING EVENTS National Association of County and City Health Officials, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and Association for Prevention Teaching and Research National Health Promotion Summit: April 10-11, Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Discussion: "Addressing the Weak Housing Market: Is Principal Reduction the Answer?" April 10, 9:30-11 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Partnership for Public Service Discussion: "Going Virtual--Maximizing the ROI of Online Training" April 11, 8:30-10 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Alliance for Innovation Webinar: "Alliance Resources and Knowledge Network Training" April 11, 1 p.m. ET Government Executive magazine Discussion: "The U.S. Navy's Expanding Role" April 12, 7:30-10:30 a.m., Washington, D.C. 1105 Government Information Group Seminar: "The Role of IT in Transforming American Health Systems" April 12, 7:30 a.m.-noon ET, Washington, D.C. American Enterprise Institute Discussion: "Hunger Games: Rethinking U.S. Nutrition Policy" April 12, noon-1:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Cato Institute Conference: "Evaluating the Homegrown Terrorist Threat" April 13, 9:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. National Association of State Procurement Officials How to Market to State Governments Meeting April 15-17, Orlando, Fla. National Public Employer Labor Relations Association Annual Training Conference April 15-19, Orlando, Fla. National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers Middle Management Conference April 16-18, Little Rock, Ark. >> Full events listings |
