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Daily Archives: March 28, 2010

New on LLRX.com: Getting Educated at LegalTech New York 2010

Getting Educated at LegalTech New York 2010: Conrad J. Jacoby provides an overview of the New York LegalTech show and conference, long one of the preeminent opportunities to catch a glimpse of the future of legal technology. Conrad highlights how the conference provides a surprisingly accurate snapshot of litigation support, electronic discovery, and even the health of the legal industry as a whole.

START/Nuclear Reductions Briefing Book

START/Nuclear Reductions Briefing Book, December 2009, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation The landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) provided a legally binding basis for substantial, verified reductions in the U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals. START codified the end of the Cold War nuclear competition, reduced real and immediate dangers associated with the… Continue Reading

EPA Proposes Veto of Mine Permit Under the Clean Water Act

News release: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its proposal under the Clean Water Act to significantly restrict or prohibit mountain top mining at the Spruce No. 1 surface mine in Logan County, W. Va. Spruce No.1 mine is one of the largest mountaintop removal operations ever proposed in Central Appalachia. The project… Continue Reading

Tax Foundation Breaks Down Financing of $938 Billion Health Care Bill

Follow up to previous postings on health care reform, this relevant data: “The $938 billion health care reform legislation finalized by Congress [signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010] is financed primarily through net cuts to Medicare and an increased Medicare tax on high-income taxpayers, according to the Tax Foundation. The Medicare spending cuts… Continue Reading

DEA: Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances

Federal Register, March 31, 2010: Drug Enforcement Administration – 21 CFR Parts 1300, 1304, 1306, 1311 [Docket No. DEA-218I] – RIN 1117-AA61 – Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances “The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is revising its regulations to provide practitioners with the option of writing prescriptions for controlled substances electronically. The regulations will also permit… Continue Reading

CBO: Costs and Policy Options for Federal Student Loan Programs

Costs and Policy Options for Federal Student Loan Programs, March 2010 “The federal government helps students finance higher education through two major loan programs—one that guarantees loans made by private lenders and one that makes loans directly to borrowers. The two programs offer similar types of loans on similar terms to borrowers, but they differ… Continue Reading

CBO – Federal Climate Change Programs: Funding History and Policy Issues

Federal Climate Change Programs: Funding History and Policy Issues, March 2010 “In recent years, the federal government has allocated several billion dollars annually for projects to expand the understanding of climate change or to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Most of that spending is done by the Department of Energy (DOE) and… Continue Reading

Civil Engineering: The Infrastructure Crisis

ASCE & American Society of Civil Engineers Special Report – The Infrastructure Crisis, by Robert L. Reid “The collapse last summer of the Minneapolis bridge that carried Interstate 35W over the Mississippi trained a spotlight on a long-standing national problem: how years of neglect, underfunding, and a lack of leadership and vision allowed America’s infrastructure… Continue Reading

Mortgage Loan Modifications and Refinance Volume Increased in January

News release and data charts: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed more than 73,300 permanent mortgage loan modifications through January under the Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, also increased, as the percentage of total monthly refinance volume increased to nearly 12.7 of all refinancings in January. The… Continue Reading

State and Local Public Employee Retirement Systems Assets Drop Nearly $180 Billion in 2008 Census Bureau Reports

News release: “The nation’s state and local government employee retirement systems totaled $3.2 trillion in holdings and assets in 2008, a loss of $178.8 billion, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. These data come from the 2008 State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems Survey, which provides an annual look at… Continue Reading

Housing Program Enhancements Offer Additional Options for Struggling Homeowners

Refinements to Existing Administration Programs Designed to Help Unemployed, Underwater Borrowers While Helping Administration Meet its Goals: “…as part of its ongoing commitment to continuously improve housing relief efforts, the Administration announced adjustments to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. These program adjustments will better assist responsible… Continue Reading