NEWS: March 3, 2016
Spending | The Nation
SBA: Federal Agencies Met Contracting Goals
for Women-Owned Firms for First Time in 20 Years
For the first time in 20 years, federal agencies met their mandatory goal of steering small-business contracts to women-owned firms, the Small Business Administration reported. In fiscal 2015, agencies awarded 5.05 percent of eligible small-business contracting dollars--or $17.8 billion--to women-owned firms, SBA said.
>> Government Executive
Public Workforce | California
State-Employee Retirements Down 4.3%
Fewer California state-government employees retired last year, according to the latest data from the state's public workers' pension system, evidence that recent raises and the prospect of future ones continue to convince state workers to stick around. A total of 10,034 state workers retired in 2015, down 4.3 percent from the prior year.
>> Sacramento Bee
N.J. Pension Fund Paid Private Managers $728 Million
New Jersey's public pension fund paid about $728 million in fees and bonuses to private fund managers last year, according to an annual report. The fund returned 4.16 percent, ahead of the median for large public pensions but well behind recent years' double-digit returns.
>> NJ Advance Media
Public Officials | The Nation
NAPA Honors First EPA Chief,
Current IRS Commissioner
for Excellence in Public Service
One is a living hero from the Watergate scandal who in 1970 became the first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The other is a veteran of the 1990s Office of Management and Budget who is under constant political fire as the current commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. William Ruckelshaus and John Koskinen were awarded the Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence in Public Service by the National Academy of Public Administration, and both weighed in on the perils of public service in today's hyperpartisan climate.
>> Government Executive
Staffer Who Set Up Clinton's Email Server Gets Immunity
The Justice Department has granted immunity to a former State Department staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private email server as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law-enforcement official.
>> Washington Post
Detroit Schools' Manager to Be Paid $18,750 a Month
Retired federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes will be paid $18,750 a month to be Detroit Public Schools' emergency manager, serving until Sept. 30 at the latest, according to Rhodes' contract.
>> Detroit News
Technology/Cybersecurity | The Nation
Survey: Modernizing IT Doesn't Make It Safer
A new report highlights a potential downside to the federal government's effort to modernize aging technology systems: New systems aren't cyber-secure either. Almost half of 200 federal IT security decision-makers surveyed reported that consolidation and modernization efforts have led to more IT security challenges.
>> Nextgov
Higher Education | Los Angeles
Protests Escalate at UCLA Over Return
of Prof Accused of Sexual Harassment
UCLA students, faculty and alumni are escalating their complaints over the university's decision to allow a prominent history professor accused of sexual harassment to return to campus after imposing what they regard as inadequate sanctions. Gabriel Piterberg agreed to a $3,000 fine, a one-quarter suspension without pay and sexual-harassment training.
>> Los Angeles Times
Study: Community Colleges Lag on Mental Health Services
Students at community colleges are more likely than their peers at four-year institutions to be struggling with mental illnesses but are less likely to have access to mental-health services, according to a report based on a survey of 10,000 community college students.
>> Chronicle of Higher Education
Tennessee Lawmakers Vote to Cut Diversity Office Funding
A panel of Tennessee state senators voted unanimously to strip state funding from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville's diversity office following months of outrage from Republican lawmakers over two controversial posts on the diversity office's website.
>> The Tennessean
Public Finance | The Nation
Municipal Finance Caucus Launched in Congress
State and local governments have a new bipartisan set of advocates for their interests on Capitol Hill. This week, U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican, and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat, launched the Municipal Finance Caucus to protect the tax status of the municipal bond market.
>> Governing
The Judiciary | The Nation
Iowa Federal Judge Eyed for High Court
President Obama is vetting Jane L. Kelly, a Harvard-educated federal appellate judge in Iowa, as a potential nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. The FBI has been conducting background interviews on the 51-year-old Kelly, who as a former federal public defender represented several of the most recognizable names to face criminal prosecution in Iowa courtrooms.
>> New York Times, Des Moines Register
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VIEWPOINT
Defense | Michael E. O'Hanlon
The Finger on
the Nuclear Button
The president of the United States can, in theory, launch nuclear war by personal decision--without any checks or balances. Whether we really think any of the candidates for president in 2016 would cavalierly start a nuclear war, the bombastic and bizarre character of much of this year's campaign should make us take this question seriously. Someday, the U.S. really could have a mentally ill president who chose to do the unthinkable. The odds are low, but we should seek to make them even lower, given the stakes at hand.
>> Brookings Institution | More commentaries
DATAPOINT
350%
Spike reported by Google in searches for the phrase "How can I move to Canada" as the Super Tuesday election results, showing Donald Trump winning the Republican primaries in seven states, rolled in
>> Cleveland Plain Dealer | More data
QUOTABLE
“I'm not going to vote for him in November.”
Massachusetts' Republican governor, Charlie Baker, who after months of edging away from his party's presidential front-runner took his firmest stance yet against Donald J. Trump, saying he did not vote for him in the state's primary on Tuesday and is "not willing to concede" that the Republican presidential contest is over, remarks that came a day before former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee who has called Trump's remarks on white-supremacy groups "disqualifying," was to discuss the race in a speech at the University of Utah
>> Boston Globe, Salt Lake Tribune | More quotes
UPCOMING EVENTS
BookTalk:
"The Craft of
Public Administration"
TODAY | 1 p.m. ET
Authors John Rouse and C. Kenneth Meyer will provide an early look at the 11th edition of their classic work, a concise, current and down-to-earth introduction to the dynamics of the public sector. For more information or to register, click here. The ASPA BookTalk series is made possible through the generous support of Routledge. |
Urban Institute
Discussion: "Complex Families and Complex Taxes: How Has Growing Complexity in Families Made the Tax Filing Process More Complicated?"
Today, noon-1:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
Governing
Webinar: "A Deeper Look: The Value Behind Overtime Visibility"
Today, 2 p.m. ET
Partnership for Public Service
Employee Engagement Online Training: "Engaging Employees Through Empowerment"
Today, 2-3:15 p.m. ET
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Reuters
Webcast: "The Zika Crisis: Latest Findings"
March 4, 12:30 p.m. ET
National League of Cities
Congressional City Conference
March 5-9, Washington, D.C.
American Society for Quality
Collaboration on Quality in the Space and Defense Industries Forum
March 7-8, Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Association for Talent Development
Telling Ain't Training Conference
March 7-8, Atlanta
>> Full events listings
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