Airport and Airway Trust Fund: Declining Balance Raises Concerns over Ability to Meet Future Demands, GAO-11-358T, February 03, 2011 “The Trust Fund provides the primary source of funding for FAA and receives revenues principally from a variety of excise taxes paid by users of the national airspace system. The excise taxes are imposed on airline… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2011
Agencies Propose Changes in Reporting Requirements for OTS-Regulated Savings Associations and Savings and Loan Holding Companies
News release: “The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies announced proposed changes today to reporting requirements for savings associations and savings and loan holding companies regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). The proposed changes include a change from quarterly Thrift Financial Reports to quarterly Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, commonly known as… Continue Reading
Three papers published by The Lancet show that the worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980
“Three papers published by The Lancet show that the worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980. Meanwhile high-income countries have shown impressive reductions in mean blood pressure and cholesterol, with some countries doing much better than others. The Articles present country by country trends in obesity, cholesterol, and blood pressure.” Continue Reading
Available Pool of Unallocated IPv4 Internet Addresses Now Completely Emptied
News release: “A critical point in the history of the Internet was reached today with the allocation of the last remaining IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) Internet addresses from a central pool. It means the future expansion of the Internet is now dependant on the successful global deployment of the next generation of Internet protocol,… Continue Reading
Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress The Report of an Expert Panel
Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress, The Report of an Expert Panel, February 2011, School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University “A variety of alternatives to petroleum are under consideration, including biofuels, natural gas, hydrogen, and electricity. Each of these alternatives has benefits and limitations in different applications, and each may… Continue Reading
City Councils in Philadelphia and Other Major Cities: Who Holds Office, How Long They Serve, and How Much It All Costs
City Councils in Philadelphia and Other Major Cities: Who Holds Office, How Long They Serve, and How Much It All Costs, The Pew Charitable Trusts Philadelphia Research Initiative, February 2, 2011 “The 17 current members of Philadelphia City Council have served longer, on average, than their peers in 14 other big cities, and they comprise… Continue Reading
EPA To Develop Regulation for Perchlorate and Toxic Chemicals in Drinking Water
Follow up to previous postings on perchlorate and drinking water contamination, from EPA today: “the agencys decision to move forward with the development of a regulation for perchlorate to protect Americans from any potential health impacts, while also continuing to take steps to ensure the quality of the water they drink. The decision to undertake… Continue Reading
The State of Working America, an ongoing analysis published by the Economic Policy Institute
“The State of Working America has been the Economic Policy Institutes flagship publication since 1988. The comprehensive economic data that has in the past been in book form is now available on this Web site for the first time in a searchable and highly user-friendly format. The data will be more accessible than ever before… Continue Reading
DOE IG: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Monitoring of Power Grid Cyber Security
Audit Report, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Monitoring of Power Grid Cyber Security, DOE/IG-0846, January 2011 “Despite their importance to protecting the power grid, the CIP [Critical Infrastructure Protection] standards did not include a number of security controls commonly recommended for government and industry systems, including both administrative and mission-related systems. For instance, the standards did… Continue Reading
New Report – Future Mobility in Maryland: Meeting the States Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility
Future Mobility in Maryland: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility (February 2011): “Without a substantial boost in transportation funding, Maryland will be unable to complete numerous projects to improve the condition and expand the capacity of roads, bridges, highways and public transit, hampering the states ability to improve mobility and to enhance… Continue Reading
Salazar Announces New Scientific Integrity Policy and Designation of Departmental Science Integrity Office
News release: “Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the establishment of a new policy to ensure and maintain the integrity of scientific and scholarly activities used in Departmental decision making. The policy follows on the Memorandum to the Heads of Departments and Agencies on Scientific Integrity issued in December and includes the designation… Continue Reading
TRAC: Federal Enforcement Shifts Under President Obama
“A detailed analysis of Justice Department and other records has found that criminal enforcement under President Obama is significantly different than it was during the last two years of the Bush Administration. One key finding is that with the increasing focus on immigration, other kinds of felony prosecutions — particularly in those districts not on… Continue Reading
