Posts Tagged: State

Fooling Ourselves and Paying a High Price

While the saga around the Penn State sexual abuse scandal will, and should, continue as people come to terms with the horrifying series of events that transpired, I find myself looking for any good that can come from this disturbing series of (in)actions of those in positions of authority. What happened in Happy Valley isRead… Read more »

Daily Dose: Is the Amanda Knox Case Unique?

Amanda Knox, an American college student who was arrested in Italy while studying abroad for the murder of her roommate in 2009, was finally released yesterday. Even though the case gathered attention around the world because of Secretary Hilary Clinton’s personal involvement, the State Department claims that all Americans incarcerated abroad are priorities in theirRead… Read more »

GovBytes: To Crowdsource or Not To Crowdsource?

Cities and states are increasingly turning to the internet to allow citizens to participate in government. While it’s often easier for people to send in a comment online rather than attend a public meeting, local governments are still trying to figure out the best way to engage in crowdsourcing. According to a recent article inRead… Read more »

It’s All About the Crew

The second in my series of articles on the Virginia State Parks Youth Conservation Corps – an example of government at its best, preparing youth for the future. Year after year we tell park staff – the Youth Conservation Corps crew will get more done than you expect. Even parks that have had crews yearRead… Read more »

FOSE 2011, plus ECM’s Benefits To Your Agency

Last week as I walked the exhibition hall at FOSE 2011, I was amazed at how much innovation is aimed at making our United States Government (the greatest in the world) even better. I had some great conversations with government employees, consultants, and vendors who are trying hard to make agencies more efficient, more effective-inRead… Read more »

Apply to the Virtual Student Foreign Service at the Department of State

The State Department’s Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) eInternship applications are available on USAJobs until July 20th. If you are a U.S. citizen college (undergrad, grad, or post-grad) student interested in conducting digital diplomacy through a virtual eInternship with a State Department domestic office or U.S. diplomatic post overseas, this program may be for you.Read… Read more »

GovBytes: Overcoming “Application Bloat”

Does your organization suffer from “application bloat”? If you’re managing a different budget tracking system for each department or have to input every employee into multiple online training systems, your organization might have too many applications. State and local governments are trying to figure out ways to streamline their IT costs by consolidating and standardizingRead… Read more »

Feds follow Arizona’s lead with proposal to require E-Verify for employers everywhere

The bill was heard Wednesday by a House Judiciary subcommittee, and would require U.S. employers to use E-Verify to check workers’ citizenship. It purpose is to create jobs for unemployed Americans by keeping illegal immigrants out of the job market, and would do nationally what Arizona has required of employers for several years — makeRead… Read more »

Government Layoffs – The 10 Cities Who Have It Worst

The Top 10 list: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI Stockton, CA New Haven-Milford, CT Fresno, CA Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Bakersfield-Delano, CA Kansas City, MO-KS Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Methodology: “24/7 Wall St. used data from the Bureau of Labor for statistics for estimated government employment and regional unemployment. The employment change figuresRead… Read more »