Boston is pothole city. So much so that the question, “Why are there so many potholes in Boston’s streets?” is a FAQ on the city’s “pothole page“.
The answer is that “coastal Boston area cities and towns experience extensive freeze/thaw cycles. You can expect to see more potholes in the winter and spring, following periods of cold temperatures and rain or snow,” according to the site. Keep reading →
Quick question – don’t think too hard about it: What is Amazon?
At one level, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, a public company listed on the NASDAQ. At another level – the physical – it is a collection of over 50,000 employees, hundreds of warehouses and zillions of servers. Keep reading →
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Just as the government expands its disaster loan program for businesses hurt by the drought, a new report shows the agency that distributes the loans is letting millions of dollars go unpaid.
As of late last year, taxpayers were owed $171 million for delinquent disaster loans, according to an audit by the inspector general of the Small BusinessAdministration. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Justice and Law Enforcement medal Shauna Henline, senior technical coordinator for the Frivolous Return Program at the Internal Revenue Service in Ogden, Utah.
Year after year, thousands of people try to avoid paying federal taxes by making outlandish claims, including that wages are not income, or that taxes are voluntary, are only paid by federal employees, can be avoided because of religious beliefs or can be exempted as reparations for slavery. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Homeland Security medal Daniel Stoneking, director of the private sector division in the Federal Emergency Management Agency‘s Office of External Affairs in Washington, D.C.
When tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes strike communities throughout the United States, federal, state and local teams immediately rush to the scene to provide emergency aid and to assist in recovery and rebuilding efforts. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Citizen Services medal Lance Rodewald, Director of the Immunization Services Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Lance Rodewald reformed the nation’s publicly-funded vaccine system so that more poor and uninsured children are protected against life-threatening diseases and the immunization process is more efficient. Keep reading →
Government officials and information specialists from more than 50 countries wrapped up a week long conference in Washington this week to try to answer a simple question: How to unlock the value of government data to improve the lives citizens in developed as well as less developed nations.
The answer, it turns out, is a lot more complex. Keep reading →
The District of Columbia got a little bit safer on Thursday thanks to the deployment of a new, enhanced 911 system.
Speaking at a launch event hosted by the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced the availability of Smart911 throughout the city. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Management Excellence medal Alice Muellerweiss, Dean of the VA Learning University at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Alice Muellerweiss helped design, establish and now heads a new learning institution that provides web-based and in-person leadership, management, technical and professional training to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees nationwide. Keep reading →
Citizens rely on numerous critical services from the public sector. Delivering these services in a cohesive way involves uniting a diverse base of people, processes, systems and agencies.
The first step to bridging this “information divide” involves creating and maintaining a single view of each citizen, which allows all information systems and business processes to share accurate and consistent data. Such projects have a direct impact on the quality of services that citizens receive, from social security to building permits to child welfare programs. Keep reading →