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Federal government’s landlord joins Vance fraud crackdown as White House widens hunt: 'Critical force'

Thu, 28 May 2026 07:00:42 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The federal agency that oversees more than $126 billion in federal contracts is joining Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force, expanding the White House crackdown into the federal government’s contracting system.

The General Services Administration (GSA) calls itself the "engine of government" and serves as the federal government’s central contracting and real estate agency, overseeing the buildings, services and goods agencies rely on to operate. By joining the task force, GSA gives one of the Trump administration’s highest-profile accountability efforts access to its procurement data, acquisition expertise and cross-agency reach as the White House seeks to root out fraud in public programs.

"GSA sits at the center of the federal acquisition and contracting ecosystem, making us a critical force in the fight against fraud," GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said in a press release obtained by ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

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"We are proud to join Vice President Vance and this Task Force to aggressively identify abuse, strengthen oversight and protect the integrity of federal procurement. GSA will bring advanced analytical capabilities, investigative support and cross-government coordination to help expose high-risk fraud patterns and stop bad actors from exploiting taxpayer-funded systems," Forst continued.

The White House’s task force is a coalition of federal agencies created by President Donald Trump through an executive order to coordinate efforts to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in federal programs. Chaired by Vance, the task force focuses on improving eligibility verification, strengthening payment controls, sharing data across agencies and helping law enforcement disrupt fraud schemes.

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The GSA has historically had some problems with improper payments.

In February, for instance, the agency’s Office of Inspector General released a report finding that "federal customer agencies relying on GSA pricing on schedule contracts are at risk of overpaying" due to failures from government contracting officers or inaccurate information submitted by contractors.

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The White House fraud task force was established in March, and has racked up a few early wins in the weeks since. Law enforcement, working in conjunction with the task force, arrested eight people in California on suspicion of defrauding public healthcare services out of more than $50 million.

The task force also withheld $1.4 billion in federal funding from home health and hospice providers suspected of defrauding the government.

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"GSA’s participation reinforces a whole-of-government strategy focused on restoring accountability, strengthening operational integrity and ensuring federal programs deliver results for the American people," the press release reads.

"By combining the Task Force’s investigative mission with GSA’s government-wide infrastructure and procurement expertise, the administration is accelerating efforts to increase transparency, improve efficiency, and reinforce public trust in federal operations."

United Arab Emirates plans AI-run government within two years

Sun, 03 May 2026 14:20:31 -0400

The United Arab Emirates just made one of the most aggressive moves yet in the global AI race. The country says it will integrate agentic artificial intelligence across half of its government operations within two years.

For context: Most governments are still debating whether to use AI. This plan puts speed and execution front and center and goes in the opposite direction of how governments typically handle major technology changes.

If it works, the UAE could offer a preview of how AI may reshape public services far beyond the Middle East. If it runs into problems, it could also highlight the risks of moving this fast when government decisions, personal data and public trust are all involved.

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UAE AMBASSADOR YOUSEF AL OTAIBA: US AND UAE FORGE GROUNDBREAKING HIGH-TECH PARTNERSHIP BASED ON AI

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What agentic AI means for the UAE government

Agentic AI refers to systems that can analyze information, make decisions and take action with minimal human input. In this model, AI can process requests, adjust workflows and improve outcomes in real time. It can also carry out certain government tasks from start to finish, instead of only suggesting what a person should do next.

So, how would that show up in everyday ways? Think faster permit approvals, automated public services or systems that respond instantly to changes in demand. Instead of waiting for human bottlenecks, processes move continuously.

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According to the announcement, AI will act more like an operational partner than a tool. That marks a change in how governments think about technology.

How the UAE plans to roll out AI across government

There is also a clear structure behind the rollout. The UAE has put a detailed plan in place with clear expectations from the start. Every ministry and government entity will be evaluated based on how quickly it adopts AI, how well it implements those systems and how effectively it redesigns workflows around them.

Oversight will come from Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior government leader who plays a key role in the country's executive decision-making. Day-to-day execution will be led by a task force chaired by Mohammad Al Gergawi, a longtime cabinet minister focused on government modernization.

How AI will change government jobs in the UAE

One of the biggest parts of this plan has less to do with machines and more to do with people. Every federal employee will receive AI training. The goal is to build a workforce that can work alongside intelligent systems rather than compete with them.

That matters because large-scale automation often raises concerns about job loss. The UAE is taking a different angle by focusing on reskilling and adaptation. If it works, it could become a model that other countries try to follow. If it struggles, it will highlight how difficult workforce transformation can be at scale.

Why the UAE is moving so fast on AI in government

This move fits into a broader strategy. The UAE has spent years positioning itself as a tech-forward economy. By embedding AI into government operations, the country hopes to improve efficiency, reduce delays and deliver faster services to residents and businesses.

It also sends a signal globally. The UAE wants to set the benchmark for how governments use AI in a big way. That puts pressure on other countries, including the United States, to rethink how quickly we adopt similar technologies.

Concerns about AI in government are already growing

For all the excitement, this kind of rollout raises real concerns. Critics point to accountability as one of the biggest questions. When AI systems start making decisions inside government, it can become harder to understand who is responsible when something goes wrong. Was it the system, the developer or the agency using it?

JOBS THAT ARE MOST AT RISK FROM AI, ACCORDING TO MICROSOFT

Privacy is another sticking point. Government systems already handle sensitive personal data. Expanding AI across those systems could increase how much data is collected, analyzed and stored, which makes some experts uneasy.

There is also the issue of bias. AI models learn from data, and if that data has gaps or flaws, the outcomes can reflect that. In a government setting, that could affect access to services, approvals or enforcement decisions in ways that are not always obvious.

Then there is trust. Even if the systems work as intended, people may still hesitate to accept decisions made by machines, especially when those decisions affect their daily lives.

Supporters argue that these risks can be managed with strong oversight and transparency. Still, critics say the speed of this rollout leaves little room for error, and that is where the debate is likely to intensify.

What this means to you

Even if you do not live in the UAE, this push has real implications. First, it raises expectations. When one government proves it can deliver faster services with AI, people elsewhere will start asking why theirs cannot.

Second, it accelerates the global AI race. Governments will need to balance speed with privacy, security and oversight. Third, it highlights a growing reality. AI is moving into decision-making roles beyond basic support functions. That changes how systems are built and how accountability works.

You may start to see similar experiments here in the United States, especially at the state or city level, where innovation can happen faster.

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Kurt's key takeaways

The UAE is betting big on a future in which AI plays a central role in how its government operates. The timeline is aggressive, and the scope is hard to ignore. What stands out most is how quickly this is moving from concept to execution. At the same time, the questions are just as big as the opportunity. Who is accountable when AI makes a decision? How much data is being used behind the scenes? And how much trust are people willing to place in systems they cannot fully see? This could become a model that other governments try to follow. It could also expose real challenges around transparency and control. Either way, it is a clear signal that AI is moving deeper into systems that affect our everyday lives.

If AI can start making real-time decisions inside government systems, how comfortable are you with that level of automation showing up in your everyday life? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Top Virginia cities in the hot seat as Trump-aligned group demands DOJ probe of DEI mandates

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:45:41 -0500

FIRST ON FOX: A Trump-aligned legal group is ramping up its pressure campaign targeting big blue cities violating President Donald Trump's Executive Orders and federal civil rights law by continuing to embed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into their practices.

America First Legal (AFL) sent three more civil rights complaints to the Department of Justice's Office of Civil Rights this week requesting it investigate the Virginia cities of Richmond, Alexandria and Arlington for violating Title VI and Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as Trump's Executive Orders on discriminatory DEI initiatives, via its city and county programs, hiring, and public services.

AFL argues the cities receive federal grant money and distribute it across their city governments in various departments and for multiple purposes, opening them up to federal scrutiny.

The civil rights complaint letters to the Justice Department follow the agency's decision to launch an investigation into the city of Austin for similar DEI violations, which was followed by AFL's first complaint letter to the Justice Department's Office of Civil Rights earlier this month, asking the agency to investigate Seattle over its allegedly discriminatory DEI practices. AFL filed a complaint against Portland a few days later as well, alleging similar accusations.

TOP UNIVERSITY HIT WITH SCATHING FEDERAL COMPLAINT CALLING FOR PROBE INTO ‘UNSAFE’ AND ‘UNLAWFUL’ DEI AGENDA

"Despite these federal civil rights laws, these jurisdictions openly engage in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") policies in their respective jurisdictions, ordering local departments to implement discriminatory ‘equity’ programs and directives," an AFL press release states. "Race-based policies do not create justice—they destroy it. As Virginia lurches to the Left, America First Legal will continue leading the fight to ensure that federal funds never support programs that divide citizens, weaken public safety, or erode the rule of law."

In AFL's complaint, the legal watchdog accuses the City of Richmond of creating a "government-wide pattern or practice of discrimination" by embedding racial equity in every department. The complaint cites hiring materials embedded with discriminatory themes, mandatory DEI training, Richmond's Equity Agenda, and the capital city's establishment of an Office of Equity and Inclusion, which AFL claims to have an aim to empower "only certain people and communities wholly based on race," rather than merit.

Richmond’s fiscal year budgets reportedly measured department performance by the percentage of employees completing "equity training," with a stated goal of 100% participation. Meanwhile, AFL also cited Richmond's "Climate Equity Action Plan" and "Racial Equity and Environmental Justice (REEJ) program," which the group accuses of funneling resources to only certain racial groups.

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The civil rights complaints against Alexandria and Arlington include similar allegations to those levied against Richmond.

Alexandria's Office of Race and Social Equity (RASE), AFL alleges, serves to embed "racial and social equity into all city policies, programs, decisions, and environments" and ensure city policies and programs "are discussed and evaluated through a racial and social justice lens."

In particular, AFL calls out Alexandria's Police Department's development of a "Racial Equity Plan," which the complaint claims has instructions for the police department "to make efforts in creating a diverse workforce" with the goal of "improv[ing] the demographic representation" through recruitment. A similar "strategic plan" from the city's fire department reportedly pushes similar hiring preferences on its department as well, AFL alleges.

Arlington, meanwhile, is accused of establishing an "Affirmative Action Plan," which AFL says includes "underutilization goals" based on race for specific job groups. These goals include increasing minority representation in the "Senior Administrators" job group from 35.23% to 45%, and minority representation in "Police Officers" from 27.38% to 38%, according to AFL's complaint.

To prove the real-life consequences of these cities' policies, AFL's complaint against Arlington pointed to an incident at a local public school from last year.

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"In September 2024, a male sex offender was permitted to use the girls’ locker room at Washington Liberty High School in Arlington County for months because he claimed to be transgender—a direct result of the County’s policy allowing individuals to use facilities based on their claimed ‘gender identity.’ The individual ultimately exposed his genitals to a 9-year-old girl," AFL's complaint to the Department of Justice chronicles. "This incident demonstrates how Arlington County’s race- and sex-conscious policies not only violate federal civil rights law but also compromise student safety."

Last month, AFL reached a settlement with the City of Philadelphia that began in 2019 over alleged race- and sex-based quotas and "discriminatory" union-membership requirements in public contracting. Under the settlement, the City of Philadelphia agreed to rewrite its "Project Labor Agreements," which AFL said penalized city contractors that refused to abide by its DEI mandates. Under the settlement, the city was compelled to make previous workforce diversity goals "strictly aspirational" and end "quotas or mandatory minimums."

From Teddy Roosevelt to Reagan to Trump, presidents have warned of power-hungry public-sector unions

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 07:00:15 -0400

President Donald Trump recently canceled public-employee union contracts for thousands of federal workers. The employees worked in agencies tied to national security, allowing Trump to invoke a national security exemption to the normal rules governing federal employees. Trump’s decision builds on his March executive order expanding the agencies covered by the exemption.

It is the latest step in a series of battles over public-sector unionism at the federal level that goes back more than a century — a debate that touches on key aspects of democratic governance.

In 1902, President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt issued an order barring federal workers and postal employees from lobbying Congress. His successor, William Howard Taft, took a similar action in 1909 with Executive Order 1142, which focused on preventing lobbying by members of the military. Congress overturned these orders in 1912 with the Lloyd-La Follette Act, but the move did not lead to widespread public-sector unionism.

In 1919, Massachusetts Gov. Calvin Coolidge put himself on the political map when he fired striking Boston police officers. When he made this decision, Coolidge famously declared: "There is no right to strike against the public safety, anywhere, anytime." Coolidge’s action was an important factor in Warren Harding choosing Coolidge as his vice presidential nominee in 1920.

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The Harding-Coolidge ticket defeated Ohio Gov. James Cox and New York’s Franklin Roosevelt. Coolidge became president when Harding died in 1923. Roosevelt eventually made it to the White House in 1932. But as president, Roosevelt recognized the dangers of public-sector unionism and opposed it. The 1935 Wagner Act, which boosted the power of private-sector unions, specifically exempted public-sector unions from its protections, stating that federal, state and local governments were not to be considered "employers" with the same obligations Wagner imposed on the private sector.

In 1937, Roosevelt wrote a pivotal letter to the president of the Federation of Federal Employees. According to Roosevelt: "All government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service."

Roosevelt’s reasoning was crystal clear and has been frequently cited by conservatives — and conveniently ignored by liberals. He warned: "The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with government employee organizations."

TRUMP'S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FINDS FAVOR WITH SUPREME COURT

In 1939, the Hatch Act included language limiting political activity by public-sector workers. The act, passed by a Democratic Congress under a Democratic president, stemmed from concerns about political activity by employees at Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration during the 1936 election. Roosevelt aide Harry Hopkins, director of the WPA, had been accused of promising jobs for votes, leading to congressional outcry and the passage of the law.

A big change toward the acceptance of public-sector unions came during the John F. Kennedy administration. In 1962, Kennedy issued Executive Order 10988, explicitly allowing federal employees to form unions and bargain collectively. But as Ira Stoll points out in his book "JFK, Conservative," Kennedy also recognized important limitations. His order did not include the words "collective bargaining."

He understood, like FDR, the inherent conflict of interest in granting those rights to government employees. In addition, the order said the government should not recognize any union "which asserts the right to strike against the government of the United States or any agency thereof… or which advocates the overthrow of the constitutional form of the government in the United States."

This language showed disapproval of strikes by public-sector unions and concerns about communist influence. Kennedy also exempted the FBI and CIA from public-sector unionism because of national security concerns — a precursor to Trump’s recent actions.

If there was one president who did the most to promote public-sector unionism in the federal government, it was Jimmy Carter. Public-sector unionism had already been rising at the local level when Carter was elected in 1976. Recognizing this trend, Victor Gotbaum, head of New York’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), bragged in 1975, "We have the power, in a sense, to elect our own boss."

When Carter signed the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, he expanded union power at the federal level. The law granted most federal employees the right to join unions and bargain over the "conditions of [their] employment." Even though it included a national security exemption, the CSRA was a major step toward the current era in which, according to Philip Howard’s 2023 book "Not Accountable," "the abuse of power by public employee unions is the main story of public failure in America — worse even, I believe, than polarization or red tape."

Carter also created the Department of Education, long sought by teachers' unions. They have been paying back Democrats ever since. A new report shows the top two teachers' unions have given almost $50 million to left-wing groups since 2022.

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Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, pushed back in August 1981 when he fired 11,345 illegally striking air traffic controllers. Reagan issued a statement he wrote himself: "We cannot compare labor-management relations in the private sector with government. Government cannot close down the assembly line. It has to provide without interruption the protective services which are government’s reason for being.… Those who fail to report for duty… are in violation of the law, and if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated."

Reagan’s move had far-reaching implications. It showed the Soviets he was a man of his word, helped him maneuver more effectively on the world stage and boosted his political standing at home. Most importantly, it demonstrated that the federal government could limit the right of federal employees to strike. There had been two dozen strikes by federal workers in the two decades before Reagan’s action. There have been none since.

Since then, political organizing — not striking — has been the main battleground for public-sector unions. They overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, using dues to fund campaigns.

In 1988, the Supreme Court in Communications Workers v. Beck required unions to give workers the ability to opt out of the portion of mandatory dues spent on politics. In April 1992, in the midst of a tough re-election campaign, President George H.W. Bush issued an executive order implementing Beck by requiring federal contractors to notify employees of their Beck rights. Bush said: "Full implementation… will guarantee that no American will have his job or livelihood threatened for refusing to contribute to political activities against his will."

Bill Clinton, Bush’s Democratic opponent, denounced the order on the campaign trail. According to a Bush White House estimate, if every eligible worker requested a refund, union funds for campaign activities would be reduced by $2.4 billion — nearly all of it aiding Democrats. As president, Clinton revoked the order. When George W. Bush took office, he reinstated it, showing how partisan the issue had become.

Another key fight has been over the scope of public-sector union coverage. During the creation of the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush sought to exempt DHS employees from union requirements. He won legislatively, but court decisions later limited many of those exemptions. Trump’s recent actions echo that battle as he seeks to extend exemptions to agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. Courts will decide whether his moves fall within the law.

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Looking back, presidents as different as Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Trump all agreed on one thing: limiting the scope of public-sector unions, especially in national security. Unfortunately, today the issue is highly partisan, with Democrats staunchly in favor of public-sector unions and Republicans looking to curtail their power.

On this Labor Day, we should celebrate American workers while recognizing the difference between hardworking citizens and public-sector unions that use their power to elect their own bosses.

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HUD joins forces with DHS to ensure federal housing resources go to US citizens, not illegal immigrants

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:20:55 -0400

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have forged a new inter-agency initiative aimed at ensuring federal housing funds do not go to illegal immigrants.

The two secretaries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday cementing the partnership, which will serve to end what they call "wasteful misappropriation" of taxpayer-funded public housing resources going to illegal immigrants rather than U.S. citizens. The new initiative will facilitate data sharing between the two agencies via newly established lines of communication, according to a press release about the effort, which added that U.S. veterans stood to benefit from the move.

"American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nation’s housing crisis," Turner said Monday. "This new agreement will leverage resources, including technology and personnel, to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing. We will continue to work closely with DHS to maximize our resources and put American citizens first."

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In total, per HUD, there are roughly 9 million people who live in subsidized housing across the country. Meanwhile, about 59% of noncitizen households – those including green card holders or illegal immigrants – use one or more public assistance programs, costing taxpayers as much as $42 billion annually, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for lower immigration levels.

Tens of millions of dollars – at least – went to housing for migrants, including for all-expense-paid stays at hotels for some, during the Biden administration. Some states, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona, passed measures during the Biden administration aimed at ensuring illegal immigrants do not take public housing resources from Americans who need them.

President Donald Trump, shortly after his inauguration, signed an executive order calling for an end to illegal immigrants' use of public resources.

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"The Biden Administration prioritized illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funding housing at the expense of Americans. Not anymore," Noem said in a statement Monday. "The entire government will work together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally. If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over."

As part of the new initiative, HUD will provide a full-time staff member to assist with operations at the federal government's Incident Command Center, which facilitates information sharing between agencies during national crises.

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Additionally, in conjunction with the establishment of the new initiative, Turner ordered numerous federal housing programs under his purview to comply with Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, which bars HUD-funded service providers from providing assistance to illegal immigrants.

Waitlist for subsidized housing in Massachusetts is yearslong — despite ample amount of vacant units

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 07:33:59 -0400

Deb Libby is running out of time to find a place to live.

Libby, 56, moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, four years ago, in part to be closer to the doctors treating her for pancreatic cancer.

But the landlord wants her out by the end of the month and she can’t find anything else she can afford. She earns only a little more than minimum wage at a hardware store and often has to take unpaid time off because of health problems.

Libby thought she found a potential solution nearly a year ago: She applied for state public housing, a type of subsidized housing that’s almost unique to Massachusetts. But she’s heard nothing since.

"It’s frightening," she said. "I seriously don’t know what to do. It’s like the system’s broken."

HOW PROGRESSIVES' GRAND PLANS FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING HAVE HARMED AFRICAN AMERICANS

In Massachusetts, which has some of the country’s most expensive real estate, Libby is among the 184,000 people on a waitlist for the state’s 41,500 subsidized apartments.

Yet a WBUR and ProPublica investigation found that nobody is living in nearly 2,300 state-funded apartments, with most sitting empty for months or years. The state pays local housing authorities to maintain and operate the units whether they’re occupied or not. So the vacant apartments translate into millions of Massachusetts taxpayer dollars wasted due to delays and disorder fostered by state and local mismanagement.

As of the end of July, almost 1,800 of the vacant units had been empty for more than 60 days. That’s the amount of time the state allows local housing authorities to take to fill a vacancy. About 730 of those have not been rented for at least a year.

Doris Romero, a housing coordinator at a Boston shelter, was stunned to hear about all the vacant apartments.

"Honestly, that’s a travesty," she said. "The commonwealth should be ashamed."

Ed Augustus, the state’s new secretary of housing, who was sworn in at the beginning of June, said there’s no justification for so many empty units.

"I think it’s unacceptable," he said.

Augustus said the state is making changes and he expects improvements soon.

In most states, low-income residents seeking affordable housing rely on federal housing, vouchers for private housing and other assistance. But Massachusetts is one of four states — alongside New York, Connecticut and Hawaii — that also has state funded housing. And the Massachusetts system is by far the biggest state funded housing system in the country — with more units than the other three states combined.

The vacancies in state-funded housing are aggravating a housing crisis in Massachusetts. Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency in August to deal with the wave of homelessness. Massachusetts reports that the number of families with children staying in shelters has almost doubled in the past year to 6,386. Massachusetts spends $45 million a month to house people temporarily at hotels, shelters, college dorms and a military base.

WBUR found there are several reasons for the vacancies in the state-funded housing system, including a flawed online waitlist, insufficient funding for staff and repairs, and apartments being used for things other than housing.

Local housing officials blame the state’s online waitlist system for hundreds of the vacancies.

"I think it’s the most horrible, horrible, inefficient program," said David Hedison, executive director at the housing authority in Chelmsford, a town 30 miles northwest of Boston. He said the agency spent six months contacting 500 people who were on the waitlist for a three-bedroom apartment, before it finally found one who responded and qualified for the unit.

Historically, local agencies with state-funded housing each managed their own small waitlists of applicants. People interested in housing had to apply to separate local housing agencies, often in person. Advocates complained it was too cumbersome. So Massachusetts launched a new system four years ago to make it easier for people to apply anywhere in the state online.

Since then, Hedison and other local housing officials have cited a litany of problems.

Applicants often fill out the lengthy forms incorrectly. And because there’s no upfront screening, housing officials only catch the errors late in the process — when they are already holding open apartments for people who don’t qualify for housing or need to be moved lower down the priority list.

People desperate for housing are often applying for housing all over the state. Housing officials all draw names from the same central database, so it’s common for multiple housing authorities to screen the same applicant at the same time, duplicating efforts and delaying the process. Some people wind up applying for towns too far from their family or work, and ultimately don’t accept the units.

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"It’s an exercise in futility," said Maureen Cayer, the housing authority director in Agawam in Western Massachusetts, where four units have been vacant for more than two years as of July.

To speed up the application process, the state hired a marketing firm to take over some of the screening of public housing applicants, starting this month.

In addition, hundreds of other apartments can’t be filled because they’re undergoing repairs or because local housing authorities lack the staff or funding for vital repairs.

Advocates pushed the Legislature to double the operating budget for public housing this fiscal year, but lawmakers approved a smaller 16% increase to $107 million.

In the meantime, local officials say it routinely takes them months to turn over units because they don’t have enough workers.

Neglected repairs have piled up for so long that units in the town of Adams, in the Berkshires near the New York state border, were condemned. Housing officials have razed dilapidated apartments in cities such as Lowell, northwest of Boston, and Fall River, near the Rhode Island line.

The state estimates there’s a $3.2 billion backlog for renovations.

Healey said the state is working on a bond bill to address the infrastructure problems, but declined to provide details.

Across the state, housing authorities have also converted at least 121 state-subsidized apartments for uses including offices, storage areas, laundry rooms, and even a police station — further shrinking the pool of units available for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities.

Meanwhile people like Libby, the Worcester woman facing eviction at the end of September, are desperate to find affordable housing.

She was surprised to hear about all the units sitting vacant across the state.

"It’s frustrating," she said. "It’s maddening."

North Dakota bill letting teachers ignore pronouns becomes law

Mon, 08 May 2023 18:07:27 -0400

Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has signed into law a bill protecting schoolteachers and state employees who choose to ignore transgender pronouns used by students and colleagues.
The law also requires teachers to inform legal guardians of students' transgender identification, and requires bathrooms be used according to biological sex absent parental approval.
The law "largely codifies existing practices while reaffirming the First Amendment right to free speech," Burgum said, commending it for "balancing the rights and interests of students, parents and teachers."

North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use, the governor's office announced Monday.

The new law also requires teachers to tell a parent or legal guardian if the student identifies as transgender. It also prohibits transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice without prior approval from a parent or guardian.

It is effective immediately.

NORTH DAKOTA BILL LETTING TEACHERS IGNORE STUDENT PRONOUNS HEADS TO GOV. BURGUM'S DESK

Burgum said in a statement that the new law "largely codifies existing practices while reaffirming the First Amendment right to free speech ... balancing the rights and interests of students, parents and teachers."

Opponents countered that the state's Republican leaders are violating the constitutional rights of students and teachers by compelling the speech of adults and potentially exposing children to dangerous repercussions if an abusive parent doesn't approve.

"Mandatory outing of a student’s trans identity violates their privacy rights at school – particularly for trans youth who cannot be safe at home. And creating a supportive working and learning environment also requires treating people with dignity and respect, including – at a minimum – calling them by the name and pronouns they want to use. These are both unlawful and discriminatory practices," said Cody Schuler, advocacy manager of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota.

NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR VETOES BILL REQUIRING LIBRARIANS TO SCREEN SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL FROM KIDS

Supporters have said the measure boosts parental rights and brings peace of mind to teachers. Others said the governor should have done more to limit trans rights.

It's only the latest measure restricting trans rights that Burgum signed after they were passed by North Dakota's House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, part of a larger push by Republican officials nationwide to roll back the rights of their LGBTQ+ constituents.

Other new North Dakota laws prohibit transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams, from K-12 through college. They criminalize health care providers who give sex changes to minors. And they limit transgender children and adults in accessing the bathrooms, locker rooms and showers of their choice, from schools to state-run colleges and correctional facilities.

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At least 21 states have restricted or banned female transgender athletes’ participation in female sports, and at least 14 states have restricted or banned sex changes for minors. Additionally, at least eight states have enacted laws preventing transgender people from using the restrooms associated with their gender identities.

San Bernardino ends decadelong bankruptcy status

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:27:59 -0400

A federal judge has closed out the bankruptcy case filed by a Southern California city that grappled with a dire cash shortage a decade ago, officials said Monday.

The city of San Bernardino said in a statement that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Clarkson closed the case last week because the city had resolved claims and has shown it can pay its outstanding long-term obligations. When the city filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 1, 2012, vendors hadn’t been paid and cash was running out to make payroll.

SENATE REPUBLICANS LOOK TO PROTECT AMERICANS EARNING LESS THAN $400K FROM IRS AUDITS

"The grueling and deep cuts we all experienced are in the rearview mirror of San Bernardino’s history," Mayor John Valdivia said.

Officials said the city of 220,000 people some 60 miles east of Los Angeles is now in a much better financial position and has been tackling street paving and tree trimming projects and hiring much-needed staff.

For the current fiscal year, the city has forecast a $2.5 million budget surplus — a far cry from the $45 million budget shortfall that was projected when the city entered bankruptcy, the statement said.

A decade ago, San Bernardino was in tough financial straits thanks to weak property and sales tax revenues, rising pension costs and a decline in state redevelopment funding. It went into bankruptcy amid an unprecedented wave of cities doing so, including Vallejo, California, and Detroit.

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In 2017, San Bernardino began paying creditors again under a bankruptcy exit plan approved by the judge. At the time, there were more than 1,000 claims against the city.

Loss of trust in public health authorities due to their bungled COVID response is 'catastrophic': Hemingway

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 20:40:49 -0400

ӣ��Ƶ contributor Mollie Hemingway dubbed Americans' loss of trust in public health authorities over their response to COVID-19 "catastrophic" Wednesday on the "Special Report" All-Star panel.

CDC DIRECTOR ORDERS REORGANIZATION, SAYING COVID-19 RESPONSE 'DID NOT RELIABLY MEET EXPECTATIONS'

HEMINGWAY: [The CDC] had tremendous power during this pandemic to control the lives of tens of millions of Americans in really bad ways. Children who will never be the same because of mask mandates; people who lost their jobs because of vaccine mandates. … The crushing of the economy - the loss of trust in public health is catastrophic. And I agree with Howie - changing or reorganizing the CDC does nothing even close to approaching what needs to be done to restore that trust.

…

The larger public health architecture did so much to destroy trust. And I think a really full admission of how much damage they caused is necessary to even begin the path toward restoring trust.

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Dramatic rescue of 19 hikers from Utah canyon: 'This is what we train for'

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:40:52 -0400

Dramatic video has captured the successful rescue of a youth group’s 17 kids and two adults from one of Utah’s many slot canyons — and Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said of the slot canyons, "These are not for the novice."

The rescue happened at the Sandthrax Canyon, which is located in the southeast, in the Red Rock region of Utah, on Friday morning.

One of the rescuers, Sgt. Nick Napierski with the Utah Department of Public Safety, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital in an interview that the group had been stuck for more than a day before help arrived.

Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said that aside from being tired and dehydrated, the group was OK — and he credits the skill of the helicopter rescue crew for the successful outcome of the operation to save all 19 people from a space they could not escape on their own.

AMERICA'S TOP 5 HIKING CITIES, ACCORDING TO A NEW ANALYSIS

The group was made up of mostly 11-year-old and 12-year-old children, plus two adults.

Said Sgt. Nick Napierski of a rescue requiring professional precision like this one and others, "Sometimes we can see them down in the slot, so we have to use thermal imaging — pick up the heat signatures. In this case, we could see [the hikers] as we were flying."

"When we spotted them," he said, "because of the number of people, we opted to set me up with a quick pick set-up, where I have a rescue vest on, I get lowered into the hole and strap them to me — and then the helicopter pulls me back up."

Napierski continued, "The slot was 110-130 feet up, with a lot of rock overhang. If you're not careful, you can hit into a wall or hit the rock ledge. You also have to make sure not to rupture a cable — if it hits the sandstone, it could fray."

He said, "The rescue worked out well, though we typically don’t have 19 people stuck in a hole all at once."

"Any time we operate outside any norms like this, we have to reevaluate why we need to do things differently. It is super tight through those jagged overhangs, so to send an empty hook down was not an option."

Napierski added, "We pulled up the first five [people], then had to stop and rest. It is hard on the helicopter, too. Then we pulled up four more before having to refuel."

He said that after that, "We knocked out the last 12 [people]. From when we picked up the first person to when we pulled up the 19th — 17 children and 2 adults — it took about an hour and 45 minutes."

The children were "exhausted and dehydrated" and "in different levels" of psychological shock when they were rescued, he said. "Some were asking about their moms. When one leader said they were stuck for over 30 hours — these kids were young and this is Navy SEAL type of stuff," he added, referring to the fact that they were stuck in a confined space for such a long time.

"When they got back to their camp they were in better spirits," Napierski added.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK GRAFFITI VANDALISM LEADS NPS TO ASK PUBLIC FOR ID HELP

He pointed out, "This canyon is very difficult — it is not even for expert canyoneers. But this is what we train for. We have training every other week, where we set up these types of scenarios. It really comes down to a team mentality," he added. "We do these hoists daily. The team in the aircraft is the bread and butter — and I’m grateful to spotlight them."

Danny Perkins, Garfield County sheriff, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital, "A slot canyon is a canyon that is very, very narrow. Sometimes, [these slot canyons are] just a few inches wide in places, like 12-18 inches. They can go up for a long ways and they’re a little wider at the top."

He stressed, "These slots are not for the novice. They are very high-skilled types of canyons. I’ve had situations where people get wedged in there and have to get rescued. Just a week before this group got stuck, we had to rescue four people in a slot canyon nearby."

Said Perkins, "I don’t know exactly how this group got stuck. I believe they were lowered in there. But the only way to get out is to climb back up the slot to where it's wide enough to guide your way out."

Perkins also told ӣ��Ƶ Digital, "The helicopter crew that came to rescue the group is one of the most highly trained crews in the United States. Pulling these kids out of the hole was like threading a needle — that’s how they got them out."

"Besides being tired, the kids were said to be in pretty good shape" when they were rescued.

Perkins said, "I tell people to know your limitations — and for whatever reason it is, people have a hard time with that. They want to go and have this experience. But know your limitations and don’t be cocky, especially if you’re responsible for others."

"This is the ‘real deal’ in Red Rock country. This area will chew you up, with both the heat and later on with monsoon season. If you get caught in a slot canyon and there is a flood, it could be deadly."

The sheriff emphasized to any others who might be considering a hike or trip of this kind, "Know your surroundings and limitations and do your research. Don’t push it. We want people to have fun, but be safe."

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"These canyons are so narrow that it’s hard to see to the bottom of them. If we didn’t have the helicopter, I don’t know if the outcome would’ve been the same," he added.

Christopher Hagedorn, an expert canyoneer and owner of Get In The Wild Adventures of Hanksville, Utah, told ӣ��Ƶ Digital, "Canyoneering is a very specialized sport that requires unique knowledge, training and experience to do safely. When inexperienced groups such as the youth group attempt to descend canyons with limited or no experience — things can go wrong very quickly as it did for this group."

He also said, "Slot canyons are dynamic systems that continuously change from one flash flood to the next. Hazards can both appear and disappear after each flash flood — which means that canyoneers must be able to overcome any obstacle that they encounter."

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"It's for these reasons and more," added Hagedorn, "that beginners should seek out professional guides to teach them the requisite skills to both descend canyons safely and to know essential rescue skills should something go wrong, and they need to rescue themselves."

"Take the challenges mentioned above and increase them a few orders of magnitude — this is the challenge and danger of Sandthrax Canyon."

"Like [in] most technical sports, canyoneers utilize a Canyon Rating System that helps define the challenge level, difficult and risk of specific canyoneering routes. This group may have been attempting to descend nearby Leprechaun Canyon — not Sandthrax."

While "Leprechaun is a beginner-level technical canyoneering route … Sandthrax is one of the most difficult technical slot canyons on the Colorado Plateau."

Hagedorn added, "In Sandthrax, ill-prepared and inexperienced canyoneers start descending the canyon, rappel down and quickly find they are way over their heads and can’t descend or retrace their steps. They are trapped."

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"When navigating to an area where one of the easiest canyons and hardest canyons are one ridgeline away, descending into the wrong canyon can quickly result in a rescue operation — which is what has been reported to have happened to this group."

Houston sends layoff notices to fire department cadets to fund voter-mandated firefighter pay hikes

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 06:22:05 -0400

Houston will lay off 67 fire department cadets in an effort to fund voter-approved pay raises for firefighters aimed at putting them on par with the city’s police force.

The trainees will remain employed through June 7, according to layoff notices obtained by the Houston Chronicle. In a statement, Mayor Sylvester Turner said 47 municipal workers also being let go will be notified next week.

“The City of Houston has experienced a sizeable budget shortfall due to the implementation of Prop B,” the notice read. “I am sorry to have to notify you that your position is being eliminated by virtue of a force reduction (layoff) and your last day of employment with the City of Houston will be June 7, 2019 close of business.”

FIREFIGHTER HAS BECOME MASTER OF MAXING OUT OVERTIME PAY

The measure calls for the city to pay its firefighters the same as police officers with corresponding rank and experience. The layoffs are necessary because the proposition adds $80 million to $100 million to the city’s bottom line and its approximate $2.5 billion budget must be balanced by July 1, the start of the next fiscal year, said Turner, according to the paper.

"At the same time, the city is experiencing a $117 million budget gap, with the cost of Prop B added on top of that," Turner said.

Turner warned voters that the passing of the measure would result in layoffs oh hundreds of city employees. His plan called for letting go of up to 400 firefighters, including cadets, and for all city departments to shave 3 percent from their spending.

Turner said no layoffs would be necessary if the raises were phased in over four or five years.

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In a statement, fire union President Marty Lancton said the layoffs were preventable. He wants the City Council to “finally stand up to Turner and reject his slash-and-burn plan for HFD.

"Sylvester Turner’s layoff notices to taxpayer-funded, Houston-trained HFD cadets reflect the mayor’s ineptitude, egotism, and a new depth of his vindictiveness,” he added.

Houston mayor calls for 400 firefighter layoffs so city can afford voter-mandated pay hikes for the rest

Sat, 09 Mar 2019 06:06:38 -0500

Houston city officials plan to lay off 400 firefighters, or about 10 percent of the department's personnel, to fund pay raises that voters mandated in a November referendum.

The administration of Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat who opposed the raises, plans to mail layoff notices within a few weeks. Those who'll be out of work include 68 cadets whom the mayor declined to promote amid a hiring freeze.

The raises required by Proposition B -- which was approved by 59 percent of voters -- would grant city firefighters the same pay as police officers of corresponding rank.

FIREFIGHTER HAS BECOME MASTER OF MAXING OUT OVERTIME PAY

Around $80 million of the city’s $197 million budget gap stems from the raises. In May, Turner will seek to issue back pay to firefighters retroactive to Jan. 1, totaling around $30 million.

“So, basically, on May 9 you want to be hanging out near a firefighter because he’s going to be buying,” Councilman Greg Travis told the Houston Chronicle. “He’s going to have a lot of money on that day.”

Turner said implementing the measure is almost impossible without layoffs.

“When you factor in Proposition B, it’s $197 million that we have to find a way to balance between now and June, and unless there’s additional revenue coming in, we cannot do it without there being significant layoffs," Turner said, according to KHOU-TV.

To close the deficit, Turner will ask all city departments to cut their budgets by 3 percent, which could require more layoffs, though no police officers will be let go, Councilwoman Brenda Stardig said, according to the Chronicle.

The plan would cut $25 million out of the fire department’s $503 million budget, Fire Chief Sam Peña told council members. Despite the cuts, the number of firefighters on duty at any one time will not change, officials said.

“The mayor’s hatred of firefighters now will have terrible consequences for us and for the public," said Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association President Marty Lancton, according to the paper. “He’s willing to destroy public safety in Houston to punish firefighter families. A world-class fire department is being destroyed from within by third-rate politicians.”

During negotiations since Prop B’s passing, the fire union proposed phasing in the raises over three years retroactive to July 1, 2018, with all members reaching parity with police by July 1, 2020.

Turner campaigned against the proposition and warned of potential layoffs if passed. He said Friday that the charter amendment came without a way to fund it.

“People want to put the administration in a box,” Turner said. “If you don’t implement Prop. B, people criticize you for not implementing Proposition B. When we move to implement Prop. B, people say, ‘We don’t want the layoffs.’ Well, you can’t have it both ways.”

Under his plan, firefighters would receive smaller raises if they lack the same educational requirements required by the corresponding police position. For example, a Houston police officer must have a master’s degree to be promoted to assistant police chief. That stipulation does not exist for fire chiefs or fire marshals.

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Some council members were skeptical of the proposal.

"I’m not sure that’s going to fly,” Councilman Mike Knox said.

Turner disagreed.

“If within police, if there are educational requirements to get to a certain rank, then the same thing ought to be expected of fire, if you want parity,” Turner said.

The City Council still needs to approve Turner's plan and vote on what it's willing to give up to balance the budget and pay firefighters, KPRC-TV reported.

The salary debate comes in the wake of national recognition Houston firefighters gained for their efforts during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which left 68 dead and $125 billion in damage.

8 air travel perks that have all but disappeared

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 10:30:18 -0400

Airlines have changed a lot over the years. Heightened security measures aside, the world of air travel has changed dramatically. With budget cuts and rising fuel costs, airlines have removed many of the perks associated with flying. In an effort to pay tribute to all that has been lost, we’ve come up with a list of 8 air travel perks that used to be commonplace and have since disappeared. As you scroll down the list, try not to become misty eyed at the bygone era of in-flight amenities.

1. In-flight Meals

Continental was the last major domestic airline to give away free meals to economy passengers flying under six hours, but they only held out until 2010. Like it or not, when Continental Airlines, which had just merged with United, stopped serving free in-flight meals, it was the end of an era. Remember purchasing your ticket and playing that little gambling game of picking the "vegetarian" or "meat" choice for your meal? You usually wound up regretting the "meat" choice, but sometimes you decided to live on the edge. Well, that fun game of in-flight meal Russian roulette is long gone. It's now replaced with overpriced boxed sandwiches that can only be purchased with a credit card.

2. Sitting Together

Remember when you could sit with the person you were traveling with? Those were the days. Since 2011, American, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and United Airlines, in an attempt to boost revenue, increased the number of coach seats that require an extra fee to sit there. That means that if you don't want to pay an extra $25 or $50 per seat for adjacent seats, you're flying solo.

3. Blankets

On many airlines, including JetBlue and US Airways, make sure you bring an extra sweater. If you wind up shivering during your air-conditioned flight, you are straight out of luck. That is, unless you have $8 to pay for a plastic-wrapped felt blanket. Luckily, there are still a limited number of carriers that give away blankets to its freezing passengers, but they are few and far between.

4. Water

It's hard to call drinking water an in-flight "perk," but unfortunately that "perk" is fast disappearing. For example, Spirit Airlines now charges $3 for a bottle of water. On the bright side, the airline offers its passengers ice at no charge. Hopefully we'll never be reduced to calling ice a "perk."

5. Pre-boarding for Small Children

While it's made fewer headlines than many of the other disappearing amenities on our list, American and Delta Airlines have quietly phased out the pre-boarding call for families with small children. Next time you go to the airport, listen for the call for families with small children to board early. You won't hear it. Instead you'll get the early boarding call for first-class customers and elite fliers. Bye bye baby.

6. Flying Standby

For the adventurous, low-budget traveler, the loss of standby represents the end of an era. It used to be that instead of buying a standard, over the counter ticket, you could purchase a discounted standby ticket and hop on to any extra seat on a flight headed for your destination. Standby made impulsive trips affordable and while there was a bit of probability involved, the low prices made the gamble worthwhile. The loss of standby will be mourned by all those last-minute jet-setters willing to sacrifice a clear itinerary in favor of flying on the cheap.

7. Inflight Cockpit Tours

On Nov. 19, 2001, with all the right reasons, the U.S. Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). One of the many issues addressed in the act was cockpit security. Specifically, air carriers were to "fortify cockpit doors to deny access from the cabin to the pilots in the cockpit." Despite the rule against having passengers in the cockpit, there is still a chance you could get a quick tour. While there is no guarantee that the flight crew will allow anyone inside the flight deck, your chances are better once the aircraft is on the ground. To get a view of the cockpit, it is best to ask the captain after the flight.

8. Wing Pins

We decided there should be something light-hearted on this otherwise depressing list. Remember those little pilot wing pins you used to get as a kid? Well, airlines no longer give them away with out a request and sometime they don't carry them at all. For future reference, the trick to nabbing a wing pin is to ask the right flight attendant.

McDonald's 10 most spectacular menu flops

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 08:50:07 -0400

The McDonald’s that we know and love, identified by those iconic Golden Arches, had humble beginnings. The restaurant first opened as McDonald’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant in San Bernardino, Calif., in 1940, serving a simple menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes. Over the next several years, founders Dick and Mac McDonald renovated the restaurant and highlighted their $0.15 hamburger.

In 1954, Ray Croc visited the restaurant and talked the McDonald brothers into creating a national burger chain. The first franchised McDonald’s location opened in Des Plaines, Ill., in 1955 incorporating the very first Golden Arches, designed by architect Stanley Meston.

Today, McDonald’s is the largest hamburger fast-food chain in the world, and serves more than 58 million customers daily. While McDonald’s continues to have a set staple menu throughout most of their locations, the chain is continuously trying to invent both local, national and international menu items to bolster its offerings.

For instance, specialty menu items such as the Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets have been huge commercial successes across the board. But other items have been launched, and have subsequently vanished just as quickly. Items such as the Bacon Bacon McBacon, the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich, and the Home-Fried Chicken never quite caught on with American consumers. In local markets, McDonald’s has even rolled out items like the McLobster on the East Coast, poutine in Canada, and the McCrab in parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia

In order to assemble our list of the top 10 McDonald’s flops, we took into account the cost of the (unsuccessful) advertising campaign, the lack of commercial success of an item, as well as the duration of which the particular product or promotion existed. So the least successful of the lot were ones that not only came and went quickly, but wasted plenty of the company’s money as well.

McDonald’s continues to roll out new products all the time; some will make it big, others will vanish off the menu without a trace.

1. McLobster

One of the seasonal and local menu items that popped up on McDonald’s menus in eastern Canada and New England during select summer months was the infamous McLobster. The company produced this faux lobster roll in a hot dog bun during the summertime, when lobster prices were relatively cheap. But "cheap" (for lobster) didn’t match up with the McDonald’s clientele. The sandwich clocked in at $5.99, and customers veered away from the expensive special.

2. The Hula Burger

The Hula Burger was the brainchild of owner Ray Kroc. He believed that this meatless burger, containing grilled pineapple with cheese on a bun, would be a perfect option for Catholics who abstain from eating meat during Lent. While the Filet-O-Fish, another Lent-inspired option, still remains popular to this day, the Hula Burger did not enjoy such long-term success.

3. McCrab

Similar to other seasonal flops like the McLobster, the McCrab was created for a specific regional area in the U.S. comprised of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The item was meant to resemble a classic Chesapeake crabcake but was lacking in the fresh ingredient department.

4. "Super-Size"

McDonald’s created a massive advertising campaign around the idea of upgrading and expanding their classic meals to be "super-sized" in the mid-1990s. For a while, the idea sold, and customers around the world were super-sizing their orders, and the calorie content. After the release of the documentary Super-Size Me, which exposed the dangers of McDonald’s and fast food, the concept of super-sizing a meal went rapidly down hill, resulting in the company pulling it from menus in 2004.

5. McGratin Croquette

While the U.S. market never had the pleasure of experiencing a McGratin Croquette, a patty made of deep-fried macaroni, potato, and shrimp, customers in Japan certainly did. It didn’t last long on Japanese menus, and critics believed it was a combination of taste and poor marketing that led to its ultimate demise.

See more menu flops at The Daily Meal

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Pennsylvania pols vote in favor of wide-sweeping pension reform

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 13:40:00 -0400

Pennsylvania state lawmakers Thursday passed a pension reform bill that will save about $5 billion by incorporating features of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

Members of the state’s House of Representatives followed the Senate by passing the bill, 143-53. Most state employees and all school employees hired after Jan. 1, 2019, will get half their pension benefits from the existing defined-benefit plan and half from a new 401(a) defined-contribution benefit plan, according to Pensions & Investments. Employees in high-risk jobs like police and corrections officers will be able to retain their defined-benefit plan.

Employees hired after Jan. 1, 2019, will have the option of taking all their benefits from the 401(a) plan. Current employees will also be able to opt into the hybrid arrangement.

“This is the largest risk transfer in a public pension system of our size in the nation’s history,” Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, according to the Morning Call.

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.

“This pension compromise achieves my foremost goals: continuing to pay down our debt, reducing Wall Street fees, shifting risk away from taxpayers, and providing workers with a fair retirement benefit, while providing long-term relief to school districts,” Wolf said in a statement.

Over a decade and a half ago, Pennsylvania’s public pension plans enjoyed a surplus, but losses in the stock market, retroactive benefit increases and delayed pension payments led to the Keystone State’s unfunded liability ballooning to $71 billion in 2016 from $7.6 billion in 2006.

The state’s pension crisis has led to property tax hikes, schools feeling the squeeze on their budgets and putting the retirements of public employees at risk.

The new hybrid arrangement will cut management fees by a combined $3 billion, as well as lowering the taxpayer’s pension risk by about two-thirds, according to a report from the state’s Independent Fiscal Office.

Government watchdogs inside the state hailed the bill’s passage as historic.

“This is a turning point for Pennsylvania,” Nathan Benefield, vice president and chief operating officer for the Commonwealth Foundation said in a statement provided to ӣ��Ƶ.

“Ten years ago, many denied a pension crisis existed, and just two years ago, Gov. Wolf vetoed pension reform. But grassroots momentum for reform has been growing. Today, we saw the first results of this momentum, with lawmakers making reform a priority and Gov. Wolf pivoting from staunch opposition to vocal support.”

Benefield says passage of the bill is a first crucial step in in addressing the pension issue and tackling state debt.

“[T]his reform is a major step toward ensuring that in 20 years, we won’t look back and say, ‘If only we had acted.’”

Planes, trains and automobiles: Bureaucrats shouldn't try to force you to live the way I live

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 06:00:57 -0400

"Tea party members don't think there's a federal role in transportation!" complained Sen. Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio), last week, near the site of a $5.8 million highway project.

If only most Tea Party members were that radical.

While Brown and other big-government folks worry that Republicans will cut spending, Republicans debate adding another $10.5 billion to the Highway Trust Fund to keep it going another year -- without deciding how to reform it. Now, there's no doubt some roads and bridges need work. But too little transportation money spent by government goes to building and repairing roads.

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As Cato Institute transportation analyst Randal O'Toole points out, the construction of the nation's federal highways was largely complete in 1982, but instead of reducing the gas tax that helped pay for them, Congress raised the tax and spent much of the money on things like bicycle trails and "mass" transit.

"Building an interstate highway system," writes O'Toole, "has been replaced by a complex and often contradictory set of missions: maintaining infrastructure, enhancing mobility, reducing air pollution, discouraging driving, supporting transit, building expensive rail lines, promoting economic development, stimulating the economy, stopping climate change and ending urban sprawl, among others."

Then, when roads deteriorate, the federal government laments that it doesn't have enough money.

We should have known that an inevitable side effect of a distant central government spending these billions is that road construction isn't determined by local supply and demand. Often "mass" transit carries few passengers, while nearby roads are congested.

Urban planners, who work closely with government and distrust markets, are convinced that people will leave comfortable suburban homes and flock to dense urban areas with walkable streets, if government just pours money into mass transit.

But even after Congress spent billions on public transportation projects, even rebuilding the downtowns of some cities to make them more pedestrian-friendly, it turned out most Americans wanted to stay in their suburban homes.

Then urban planners assumed adults would relocate to cities once their kids left for college or jobs, but a recent Fannie Mae report found baby boomers are not doing that. The planners are surprised. They shouldn't be.

"After all," writes O'Toole, "baby boomers' parents overwhelmingly preferred to 'age in place' rather than move when their children left home; why should baby boomers be any different?"

It turns out that government spent your billions on urban transit based on surveys that asked people if they want to live in "walkable communities."

Of course people said yes! Who doesn't want to live in a neighborhood where you can "walk to shops"? But if they'd asked, "Are you willing to spend about four times as much per square foot to live in a city instead of a spacious suburban home?" they'd get different answers.

Now, I live the way bureaucrats want you to live. I have an apartment in New York City, one of the most densely populated places on Earth. I take the subway system to get around and sometimes ride my bicycle. I like living this way. But bureaucrats shouldn't try to force you to live the way I live.

In fact, herding people into denser urban areas sounds suspiciously like something that makes life easier for the bureaucrats themselves. It was a popular idea with communist planners in Romania and North Korea. Mass transit and "planned spaces" appeal to the bureaucratic mind.

How about going the opposite route? Let people live where they choose, let private entities build roads and mass transit (many roads and even most of New York City's subways were privately built), and let user fees from commuters pay for roads and transit.

There is justice in that idea: People who love to drive will pay for it, and those who don't want to pay have an extra incentive to move to those urban spaces planners like so much.

In a market, everybody wins. With government planners, it's always "My way or the highway."

Dallas pension system suspends access to some cash amid run of withdrawals

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 11:00:00 -0500

The Dallas Police and Fire Pension system voted Thursday to halt all withdrawals and payments from its deferred retirement program, as a series of mass withdrawals has drained more than $500 million from the fund since August.

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The vote stopped more than $154 million in requested withdrawals from being distributed Friday. Pension officials said the withdrawals would drop reserves below the level needed to keep the fund afloat.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the lump-sum withdrawals, which he said sped up the projected insolvency of the ailing fund to about 10 years.

AMERICANS' ODDS OF EARNING MORE THAN PARENTS HAVE PLUNGED

Both the city and pension system proposed plans to lower benefits to stabilize the fund. System officials said they were working to convert illiquid assets to liquid assets to resume monthly payments in January.

"Because [deferred retirement] participants do not have any right to a lump-sum withdrawal of [deferred retirement] funds, this method of payment may only be used when the pension system is solvent, liquid, and actuarially sound," the mayor's lawsuit contends.

"It's like watching your kids fight, and one is going to ask Mom and one is going to ask Dad. And you're sitting there watching them make a mess of things," Dallas Police Association President Frederick Frazier told Fox 4. "But the problem with this is people’s lives are at risk."

The fund was undermined in recent years by overvalued investments and risky real estate deals, as well as the generous benefits for its deferred retirement program.

Rawlings issued a statement through a spokeswoman Monday. "As a 40-year resident and taxpayer of the City of Dallas, I have chosen to personally file suit in District Court not only to protect the retirement benefits of all our police and fire personnel, but also to protect the pocketbooks of all my fellow citizens and taxpayers. I am funding this suit, and at no time will any taxpayer dollars be expended in this effort," he wrote.

The pension board's president, Sam Friar, said in a letter to beneficiaries last week that the board did not believe it could restrict access to the deferred retirement funds under the Texas Constitution.

The city and the pension board have been at odds over how to fix the fund’s financial problems. City officials have noted that dozens of the retirees withdrawing their funds were retiring with as much as $1 million apiece because of hefty benefit changes to the deferred retirement program voted in by members over the past two decades.

Pension officials have said the city has failed to make a financial commitment to keeping the fund solvent. They have presented options to the city for increasing its financial contribution by as much as $1.1 billion.

"It is becoming painfully clear that the mayor's reckless endgame is to bankrupt the retirement plans of first responders in hopes the state will seize control of the pension system so Dallas City Hall can rid itself of this crisis," Dallas Police Association President wrote on Monday.

A state District Court judge cleared the way last week for beneficiaries of the plan to resume voting on proposed benefit changes as part of a fix. In order for those to pass, 65 percent of the membership must approve them. The lawsuit, which will go to trial in March, seeks to invalidate the pension board's actions on the grounds that it has more members than is allowed under state law.

Click for more from Fox 4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

McDonald's drops Heinz ketchup

Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:55:30 -0400

McDonald's has lost its taste for Heinz ketchup.

The fast-food giant said in a statement Friday that it is cutting ties with the condiment company after 40 years due to management changes there. A former Burger King CEO became head of Heinz in June after the company was bought by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. 3G, a Brazilian investment firm, also controls Burger King.

The impact of the change may be tasted more overseas. In the U.S., McDonald's uses Heinz products only in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis restaurants.

"As a result of recent management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's Corp. said in a statement. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based restaurant chain did not disclose the value of their business relationship.

Heinz said that it does not comment on relationships with customers as a policy.

The Pittsburgh company, which also makes baked beans, vinegar and other foods, is now led by Bernardo Hees. He still serves as vice chairman of Burger King's board and is also a partner at 3G Capital.

The 43-year-old Brazilian had become CEO of Burger King after 3G bought the struggling hamburger chain in 2010. He subsequently slashed costs, revamped the chain's menu and launched a major marketing campaign to help make it a more formidable threat to long-time rival McDonald's.

McDonald's shares added 10 cents to close at $94.78. Heinz is now privately held.

Workplace chaplain is good business for Illinois company

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 12:37:59 -0400

Some businesses just have an angel keeping watch on their daily endeavors. FONA International, a flavoring specialist based near Chicago, is one of them.

Angel Collazo comes to the workplace in Geneva, Ill., one day a week to talk to employees about their work and lives. Collazo, or “Chaplain Angel” as he likes to be called, is one of 165 Corporate Chaplains of America (CCA) who visit companies across the United States to answer to the needs of workers – and employers.

It’s all about addressing the whole worker and making sure they get the help they need to stay positive, focused and moving forward. In addition to his visits, Collazo is available to workers by cellphone or pager 24/7.

“Angel is here” is the email that goes out when he walks in the door on Fridays at FONA. Employees have open access to him, in the cafeteria, in private offices, or even for special events in their homes. He typically wears a polo shirt and slacks and is onsite three to four hours.

“They can talk to me about anything they want. It is very inspirational, and brings fulfillment to what I do because the employees do connect,” Chaplain Angel said.

Collazo, 59, an ordained minister, has been with FONA for five years, and is a chaplain for four other businesses. His previous career includes working as an engineer for Motorola.

“I do get a lot of calls, I get calls at midnight or past midnight, they do come,” he said “Employees may be in an unsettled spot in their lives and they pick up the phone and call me. The thing is I build a relationship with them. Employees look at me as just another employee of the company, but as an employee that is there with a different function – to help them out.”

He’s done visits to hospitals to see employees or their family members, officiated at funerals, and he has conducted weddings. “They’ll even bring me cookies. And I bring food in, too. My wife will prepare something and I will bring it in for meetings, lunch and learns on marriages or finances that we hold.”

FONA, with offices in the Europe and Canada, is a 37-year-old global supplier of flavorings for a wide range of markets, from beverages, grains and health care to candies, dairy and desserts. They have 200 workers at the Illinois site. They pay nearly $19,000 annually for the chaplain service.

FONA, like more than 400 businesses with CCA today, provides services because the workers and workplaces need it. The day-in, day-out demands of work, on top of the stresses of family life, can sometimes just be too much, explained FONA Human Resources Director Tonya Hubbartt. The service is part of their wellness strategy.

“FONA’s culture is one of acceptance of employees. When we hire individuals, we want them to bring their whole self to work,” she said. “Their physical, their mental, their spiritual self – and this complements that spiritual self. It’s an extension of the culture Joe created 37-years ago, which is to take care of employees and make sure they are taking care of themselves.”

Collazo’s day at the office is busy. In April alone, he had 540 contacts; for the year through April he had 2,730 contacts. These are conversations, greetings and prayers, and people schedule time with him – “Everyone knows him, he’s a popular guy,” said Hubbartt.

Joseph Slawek, founder and CEO of FONA, started the chaplain service at his workplace about 10 years ago. “The chaplaincy program is sort of duality thing going on,” he said “We don’t hear what’s discussed. But on top of that I think people appreciate it when there is a family problem. They may be more open to speak with a chaplain about it. As I like to say, ‘Life happens.’ People get married, children move away, children present challenges, or a parent passes away. “It helps our people know that they are cared about, that they are important to us and that we understand.”

Slawek noted that the caring aspect the chaplain service embodies is important to not only the worker, but also to the perception of the overall workplace culture. This helps companies develop and retain good workers, he said.

That workplace perception may be reflected in a recent survey of FONA. The company partners with the largest employers association in the Midwest, MRA, to conduct a bi-annual employee opinion survey. The survey results confirmed that 93 percent of FONA’s employees are satisfied with their job and with FONA as their employer of choice. This percentage is 13 percent above the national average.

“This is one part, an effective part, of building an overall culture. It’s not everything, but it is a good part of building a successful culture that communicates to our people that we care about them, and by extension that they should be caring about their co-workers and our customers. The culture is what holds people in. People come for the culture.”

Note: FONA International is celebrating being named the Elite Overall Best of the Best winner in the Chicago area’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, www.101bestandbrightest.com. For more on Geneva, Ill.-based FONA, visit www.fona.com.

Illinois Gov. Rauner strikes blow against public sector unions, ends forced dues

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 08:23:21 -0500

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner struck a first official blow on Monday against the public sector labor unions he has frequently criticized by ordering an end to a requirement that workers pay dues even if they decide not to join a union.

His executive order sets up a fight with the state's powerful labor unions, a key ally of members of the Democratic-led Legislature, just as Illinois has begun divided government for the first time in more than a decade. Unions immediately lashed back, while top Democrats questioned the legality of Rauner's action and said their legal teams would review it.

Rauner, a wealthy businessman and self-described admirer of governors in Wisconsin and Indiana who've championed anti-union policies, said 6,500 state employees are paying so-called "fair share" dues, or an average of $577 a year per worker.

Rauner frequently criticized organized labor during his campaign for governor, saying they hinder economic growth by stifling competition and have far too much political influence in President Obama's Democratic-leaning home state.

"These forced union dues are a critical cog in the corrupt bargaining that is crushing taxpayers," Rauner said, adding that forcing non-union employees to pay union dues requires them to fund political activity they don't agree with.

Rauner said he took action after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last July that found state labor law violated the First Amendment by mandating home health care workers have union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks.

The order, Rauner said, would have "no impact" on employees who wish to remain paying members of the union and fund union activities out of their paychecks.

Rauner said the union dues requirement was something, "I am duty bound to correct."

But it was unclear Monday whether Rauner was on solid legal ground, as the Supreme Court decision found certain workers didn't have to pay "fair share dues" but upheld that requirement for "full-fledged state employees."

Rauner said a legal team headed by a former U.S. attorney and lawyers at Chicago-based firm Winston and Strawn will handle a plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to declare "fair share" provisions unconstitutional.

Unions pledged to stand together to reverse the order. Rauner can be overruled by the courts, or if lawmakers can gather enough votes to override his decision. Democrats hold supermajorities in the state Legislature.

The executive order followed Rauner's proposal last week, during his State of the State Address, for Illinois to adopt "right to work" zones around the state where communities are able to decide whether joining a union or paying union fees would be voluntary for local workers.

"This is really a smoke-screen for what the billionaire governor wants to achieve," Tom Balanoff, President of Service Employees' International Union Local 1 said. "He wants to bring right to work to this state. It's going to lower peoples' wages, lower their benefits."

Roberta Lynch, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31, called the executive order a "scheme" to weaken unions and strip state workers of their rights.

Some members of the Democratic-led Legislature suggested it was a distraction as Rauner grapples with an unprecedented budget crisis stemming from the expiration of the state's income tax increase in January. The expiration of the tax increase is expected to leave the state with close to a $2 billion budget hole by the end of the fiscal year this July, and more next year, leaving key programs and services underfunded.

"I don't understand why he wants to throw down the gauntlet on an issue like this," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat. "He should have enough on his plate."

Trump and Sanders: Why do so many Americans find them appealing?

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:13:00 -0500

America is witnessing a political Supernova—voter flirtation with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders—because both political parties have failed ordinary folks.

To listen to the Obama administration and its apologists in the media, Americans are witnessing the second age of Pericles. The economy has added jobs for 64 straight months, unemployment at 4.9 percent is approaching pre-recession lows, and nominal wages are rising again.

Prairie muffins!

During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, jobs growth was twice the pace President Obama has accomplished, and the official unemployment rate is so low because 7 million American men ages 25 to 54 have quit looking for work altogether and don’t get counted.

No surprise, family incomes, after accounting for inflation, are down $1,650 on Obama’s watch, and the averages hardly tell the whole story.

Bankers and corporate elites are doing great—look at what Marissa Mayer pays herself to run Yahoo into the ground—but most young people are taking a terrible beating—in no small measure for what the economy and Washington has done to them.

At Obama’s behest, most have taken out huge debt to obtain college degrees that leave psychology majors serving coffee at Starbucks, philosophy majors dispensing wisdom from the front seats of cabs, and business majors demonstrating the features of an iPhone at Verizon stores.

You simply don’t need to spend four years in my classroom to do those jobs. If you spend that much time with my liberal colleagues, you will leave college with a strong suspicion that things are so bad because the establishment—led by the Democratic and Republican Party elites—has stacked the deck against you.

Unable to find satisfying and adequately paying work, buy a home or afford a decent apartment and now forced to purchase expensive and often inadequate insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges, it is no surprise that many young people—including young women—reject Hillary Clinton’s clarion call to continue the Obama revolution. And they find Sanders’ message to break up the big banks, scuttle the present health system in favor of a British-style national health service, and generally reorder America’s economic system darn appealing.

After all when the devil you know is squeezing you poor, embracing the devil you don’t know offers at least some prospect for relief.

The GOP establishment offers threadbare bromides—free trade, tax cuts and deregulation—that have been tried and failed.

The recently implemented South Korea free trade deal was supposed to deliver great opportunities for new employment through new exports but instead it has killed 130,000 American jobs. And does anyone really believe lower taxes will keep Ford from moving car production to Mexico, or that the banks can be trusted to keep financial markets safe and the broader economy from another Great Recession?

Enter Donald Trump—whose free floating populism is derided by establishment conservatives like the editors of the National Review.

Trump’s message is simple—America is broke, Obama has changed the country for the worse and political correctness and statism have failed.

His prescriptions are sometimes outrageous and his rhetoric even worse, but his real appeal to the nation is he ran enterprises that made his employees and investors—read constituents—better off.

That is something neither Barack Obama nor George W. Bush can claim.

Americans are smarter than the political establishment gives them credit for being. Confronted with long deteriorating conditions, they do not easily accept that more of the same—read Hillary Clinton—or advocates of the status quo ex ante—the gaggle of GOP establishment candidates promising to resurrect the failed policies of his predecessor—is a smart move.

If nothing else, Sanders and Trump offer what has not been tried before and failed.

Despite ‘staggering’ success, Ill. drops Medicaid fraud finder -- gives job to unionized employees

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 07:51:59 -0500

Illinois is rewarding a private company that has found more than 200,000 people who should not be enrolled in Medicaid by pulling the firm off the job.

Maximus, a Virginia-based company, has been combing through the 2.7 million people enrolled in Illinois' Medicaid program.

So far this year, the company has reviews 465,067 cases, and recommended that 228,965 people - about half - be dropped from the Medicaid rolls. Illinois has removed 114,675 people from Medicaid, and kept 176,664. The remaining cases are pending.

But Maximus' time on the job is coming to an end.

A six-page memo from Oct. 31 states that the state's Healthcare and Family Services agency as well as the state's Department of Human Services will stop using Maximus and will turn over the Medicaid review to unionized public employees.

"HFS and DHS are have determined that it is possible to make the process more efficient by eliminating the step of Maximus eligibility workers making a recommendation, so that the case goes directly to a State caseworker," states the letter from Michael Koetting, HFS' deputy director of Planning & Reform Implementation.

The move satisfies the order of an arbitrator who ruled that public employees, most represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are required to do the same job that Maximus has been successfully working at for more than a year.

Click for more from Watchdog.org.

Government employees and politicians gets special status from TSA

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 08:20:44 -0400

Government employees and politicians get preferential treatment from the Transportation Security Administration simply for being government employees and politicians.

Meanwhile, everyone else is stuck in an “aviation security caste system” based on dozens of watchlists compiled by the TSA, FBI and other law enforcement agencies, along with a secret formula the TSA believes can sort passengers based on hypothetical analyses and conjecture.

That’s the conclusion drawn by Hugh Handeyside, a staff attorney for the ACLU, who reviewed a recent audit of the TSA, every traveler’s favorite government pseudo-police force.

In case you missed it, Watchdog reported last week the GAO says the TSA doesn’t really have a handle on how many people end up boarding airplanes despite being on the so-called “no fly list.” The TSA uses literally dozens of different lists provided by federal law enforcement agencies to determine which travelers should be singled out for extra screening or should not be allowed to fly, no matter how much screening they receive.

But the keen legal minds at the ACLU caught another serious problem.

Handeyside says keeping all those separate lists — and “blacklisting” some people while “whitelisting” others — is probably unconstitutional and is “stretching the concept of watchlisting to the breaking point.”

“Not only has the Transportation Security Administration expanded its use of blacklists for security screening to identify passengers who may be “unknown threats,” but it also has compiled vast whitelists of individuals — including members of Congress, federal judges, and millions of Department of Defense personnel — who are automatically eligible for expedited screening at airports,” Handeyside wrote. “These changes have made a broken watchlisting system even more arbitrary, unfair, and discriminatory.”

Click for more from Watchdog.org

US Postal Service loses $2 billion this spring

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:26:32 -0400

The U.S. Postal Service lost $2 billion this spring despite increasing its volume and charging consumers more money to send mail, officials said Monday.

The loss for the spring quarter, which ended June 30, was significantly higher than the $740 million loss for the same three-month period last year. The agency blamed increases in compensation and benefit costs for the red ink and said it would be unable to make a congressionally mandated payment of $5.7 billion this September for health benefits for future retirees. The loss came despite a 2 percent increase in operating revenue compared to last spring.

"Due to continued losses and low levels of liquidity, we've been extremely conservative with our capital, spending only what is deemed essential to maintain existing infrastructure," said Joseph Corbett, the Postal Service's chief financial officer.

The Postal Service is an independent agency that receives no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control. It has asked to end most Saturday deliveries, a request that is languishing in Congress amid opposition by postal unions. The agency also is seeking to eliminate the congressionally mandated $5.7 billion annual payment for future retiree health benefits.

Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, agrees that Congress should get rid of the 2006 mandated payment but says it would be "irresponsible to degrade services to Americans and their businesses" just as postal delivery is rebounding with the economy. Because more people are shopping online, "the Internet is now a net positive for USPS, auguring well for the future as e-commerce grows," Rolando said in a statement.

The Postal Service has defaulted before on federally mandated annual payments to cover expected health care costs for future retirees. Corbett said the agency also needs $10 billion to replace old vehicles, buy new package sorting equipment and make other infrastructure upgrades.

Other findings from the latest quarterly report compared to the same time period last year:

--Shipping and package revenue was up 6.6 percent, while standard mail revenue increased 5.1 percent. The increase was attributed both to higher volume and prices charged to consumers.

--First-Class mail volume declined by 1.4 percent, but revenue climbed 3.2 percent because of price increases.

--Operating revenue increased by $327 million to $16.5 billion.

--Operating expenses increased by $1.5 billion to $18.4 billion.

Feds used donations intended for poor for massages, luxuries for themselves

Mon, 19 May 2014 01:34:11 -0400

Federal employees and a contractor diverted more than $1 million of charitable contributions to spending on themselves for in-office massages, meals at every meeting and other luxuries and unnecessary expenses, a government audit found.

They called themselves "volunteers" and said they needed "motivation" to help the less fortunate, even though some 41 federal workers were being paid full-time salaries to administer just one local chapter of the government's annual workplace charity drive, the Combined Federal Campaign.

They arrived a day early and stayed a day late for annual training conferences in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and paid for room service and pay-per-view movies with donated funds. Then, they adamantly defended their right to do so when questioned by auditors.

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