Along with robins and pollen, another sure sign of Spring is dandelions. I wage my annual war against these weeds every year, but I think the dandelions are winning. When our children were younger, we use to pay them 25 cents per dandelion if they included at least two inches of root. Not only didRead… Read more »
Last week my blog was going to be about the pirate situation in east African waters but after I started writing, I opted to write a plug for the cruise industry instead. Yeah, I wimped out. As it turns out my younger son, the filmmaker, forced me to face my conscience on this one. HeRead… Read more »
Following is a review I wrote recently of a fascinating book, “Adam’s Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds,” by Joyce Burnett in collaboration with the late Isabel Washington Powell, first wife of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. This book can be obtained from DBM Press, LC . Adam’s Belle rings true AdamRead… Read more »
President Obama holds his first full cabinet meeting today (without the still unconfirmed Kathleen Sebelius) to order spending cuts at each of the government agencies. The goal is to trim $100 million in the next 90 days, an impressive-sounding figure, but don’t be fooled: The cuts announced today amount to just one quarter of oneRead… Read more »
President Obama named his CTO on Saturday, April 18. With the addition of Aneesh Chopra to his team, does this mean IT is ready to roll to new heights in this administration? Hopefully, there are no remaining obstacles, and the first tech president in U.S. history will meet his goals of better tech, more transparencyRead… Read more »
Public managers in communities across the country are under increasing pressure by the public to report on the outcomes and results of their programs. With both internal and external demands for information, public managers not only need to provide an accounting of resources expended and services provided, but also report on performance and outcomes. TheRead… Read more »
Jonathan Walters’ report chronicles the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) efforts to realign and centralize its information technology activities. Describing it as an “ambitious, audacious and arduous crusade,” Walters makes it very clear that this is still very much a work in progress. There are significant hurdles ahead and certain significant adjustments will no doubtRead… Read more »
W. Henry Lambright writes an interesting report about Griffin and NASA. A summary of the report is that President George W. Bush told NASA to return to the moon and prepare for manned exploration of Mars. The man he put in charge, Michael Griffin, was a certified rocket scientist with a passion for manned spaceRead… Read more »
Both Oregon (Portland) and Washington (Seattle and Bremerton) have HOPE VI projects, the latest generation of public housing. (HOPE VI is a federally funded program started in 1992 aimed at improving distressed public housing and reversing the negative perceptions of it.) One of these projects in Seattle was recently evaluated for energy efficiency – andRead… Read more »
Good morning. It is your weekly dose of TSP Talk. The indices were mixed on expiration Friday as the Dow and the I-fund were basically flat on the day, the S&P 500 gained 0.50%, and the small caps gained 1.0%. Like the title of this article says, it looks like the S&P 500 is goingRead… Read more »