Agencies

“These citations and the sizable fines proposed here reflect the Postal Service’s ongoing knowledge of and failure to address conditions that exposed its workers to the severe and potentially deadly hazards of electric shock, arc fires and arc blasts,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief David Michaels said in a Friday news release.

Another postal facility cited for safety violations

By on August 23, 2010 Postal Service

NASA's search for the perfect wake-up song

By on August 23, 2010 NASA

For at least 45 years, NASA’s mission control has awakened voyaging astronauts each morning by playing them songs — some funny, some poignant, some live, and some hilariously inappropriate. (Who thought it would be a good idea to play David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” — which ends with a doomed astronaut’s malfunctioning spacecraft drifting through space — not once, but twice?) Now, time is running out on NASA’s space shuttle program, and along with it, that fun tradition. But before it ends, NASA has decided to let the public get in on the act. NASA on Friday launched its “Space Rock”…

Moran: BRAC move would snarl NoVa traffic

By on August 19, 2010 Defense

One of the most frustrating parts of living in the Washington area is trying to drive into the nation’s capital during rush hour. And if the Defense Department follows through with its current relocation plans, commuting might get worse. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said in an Aug. 6 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the department’s “ill-advised” plans to move 6,409 employees to the Mark Center complex in Alexandria, Va., will cause catastrophic traffic jams on roads — including Interstate -395, the main corridor Virginians take to commute into Washington. The Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closure committee originally recommended…

NSPS update: 110K transferred out so far, 22K on retained pay

By on August 18, 2010 Defense

The Pentagon has posted updated statistics on the drawdown of the National Security Personnel System. As of Aug. 1, 110,313 NSPS employees have been returned to the General Schedule system. Of those, almost 80,000 have been bumped up to the next highest step and received pay raises averaging $1,450. But more than 22,000 employees — 20 percent of those transferred — have been placed on retained pay status because they earn more than their GS grade’s step 10 allows. They will receive half of the normal GS pay raise each year until their grade catches up with their salaries. The…

The Elizabeth Warren rap

By on August 17, 2010 Federal Reserve

You know what comes to my mind when I think of Elizabeth Warren, the left’s favorite to be the first director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Rap music. And Sergio Leone-esque spaghetti westerns. So you can imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this video, from the consumer protection group Main Street Brigade, which is a strong supporter of Warren and Obama’s financial reform efforts. “Got a New Sheriff” combines rapping, auto-tuned lyrics, and Ennio Morricone-inspired whistling, resulting in something that’s … er … unique, to say the least. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, this is the first rap…

“We think we’re picking up revenues and transactions that we otherwise would not have gotten," said Michael Plunkett, the Postal Service's manager of retail partners.

Postal Service teams up with Office Depot

By on August 16, 2010 Postal Service

“We think we’re picking up revenues and transactions that we otherwise would not have gotten,” said Michael Plunkett, the Postal Service’s manager of retail partners.

Smoke up, Johnny: USPS OKs mailing tobacco to troops

By on August 13, 2010 Postal Service

Know a GI in Iraq or Afghanistan who’s hurting for a smoke? Beginning Aug. 27, the U.S. Postal Service will once again allow customers to mail cigarettes and other tobacco products abroad to soldiers, Marines and other service members. The Associated Press reports that after a law kicked in June 29 that sought to keep minors from ordering cigarettes, the Postal Service originally only allowed care packages with tobacco to be mailed via Express Mail. The problem was, Express Mail can’t be sent to some overseas locations like Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving soldiers out of luck. But in two weeks,…

AP: O'Keefe in critical condition

By on August 11, 2010 NASA

The Associated Press reports that former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe is in critical condition after the plane crash that claimed the life of former Sen. Ted Stevens. O’Keefe and his son Kevin — who also survived Monday’s crash and is listed in serious condition — suffered broken bones and other injuries. Five people, including Stevens, died in the crash. The AP says that authorities are studying the weather patterns from that night to figure out what caused the small plane to go down.

DCIPS employees: Tell us what you think

By on August 9, 2010 Defense

Our story Friday breaking the news that the Pentagon has abandoned the pay-for-performance elements of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System has generated a lot of interest, both on our main website and our blog. Responses ranged from exuberant and exclamation point-y (“THERE IS A GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11”) to regretful (“Unbelievable… back to the old way where you get paid for doing only as much as needed to not be fired?”). Federal Times is working on a follow up story this week, and we’d like to hear from people who have worked under DCIPS. Where do you think it went wrong? What…

Pentagon: Congressional opposition helped kill DCIPS

By on August 6, 2010 Defense

The Pentagon just posted an action plan online that discusses how it will wind down the pay-for-performance elements of the the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System. Interestingly enough, the report says there were three leading factors that caused Defense Secretary Robert Gates to scratch pay-for-performance, even though a NAPA report advised against it: First, the operational tempo in Defense’s intelligence agencies is so high that making such a major change — especially when employees are so concerned about it — could distract employees from their mission. Second, “congressional support necessary to undertake and support such a change at this time…

Browsing: Agencies