Older Feds Aren't Playing to Their Strengths
Is It Too Hard to Fire Misbehaving Feds?
Americans Still Like the Postal Service
A Forced 4-Day Weekend for Many Feds
No More Tax-Cheating Feds, Senators Say
Video: The Daily Show on Apple's Taxes
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Kedar Pavgi
Editorial Fellow
Kedar Pavgi joined Government Executive summer 2012 as an editorial fellow. He previously worked at Foreign Policy magazine, and has written for The Diplomat, The World Politics Review and the Foreign Policy Association. He received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, where he studied economics and international relations.
Around Government
November 1, 2012 Dishin’ Out Soft Power State Department chef serves up meals as part of the United States’ new culinary diplomatic corps. Jason Larkin commands the kitchen of diplomacy. As the chef for the State Department, he’s in charge of preparing culinary concoctions for the many visiting diplomats and heads of state ...
High and low tech helps HHS weather Sandy
October 31, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Lessons learned from a fast-moving derecho storm that hit Washington in June helped the Health and Human Services Department prepare for the punch of Hurricane Sandy, according to Federal News Radio. Frank Baitman, HHS’ chief information officer, told FNR that key emergency protocols and operations established after the derecho helped ...
Thousands of National Guard forces mobilized for Sandy
October 30, 2012 At least 7,400 National Guard forces were mobilized in response to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, according to a press release from the National Guard Bureau. The National Guard was mobilized as the governors of 12 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia declared states of emergency before ...
USPS announces closures in storm areas
October 29, 2012 This story has been updated. The U.S. Postal Service closed offices along the East Coast because of Hurricane Sandy, according to the agency's website. “USPS is prepared for a quick response before, during and after Hurricane Sandy and has procedures in place to expedite recovery efforts,” USPS said. Service was ...
State could make more effective use of e-diplomacy work
October 26, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The State Department could expand its e-diplomacy initiative to improve policy planning and governmental outreach, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. Fergus Hanson, a nonresident fellow at Brookings, said the department’s e-diplomacy program, under which officials communicate directly with millions of people worldwide through social media, offers ...
Fed gets jail time for personal purchases on a government credit card
October 25, 2012 A Health and Human Services Department employee was sentenced by a federal judge this week to six months in prison for using government charge cards to buy more than $114,000 worth of personal items, according to a Justice Department release. Justice said Jihan S. Cover, a purchasing agent with the ...
Groups want scientists exempted from strict conference spending rules
October 24, 2012 New limits on conference spending are preventing federal scientists and engineers from collaborating and working on technical research, according to several organizations representing the scientific community. In a letter dated Sept. 10, a group of scientific organizations asked the White House and members of Congress to exempt them from the ...
Commerce Department conference costs can be hard to pin down
October 22, 2012 More than 60 percent of conference spending that Commerce Department bureaus reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was not based on actual costs incurred, according to a new report from Commerce’s inspector general. In an analysis of the department’s spending on 24 conferences, the IG’s report found that ...
Video shows contractors gone wild in Afghanistan
October 17, 2012 Federal contractors at a covert operations center in Afghanistan violated military orders by abusing alcohol and drugs, risking the safety of personnel in the country, according to an investigative report from ABC News. A video released by ABC News showed employees from Jorge Scientific, a Virginia based company with nearly ...
Former Defense official calls congressional paralysis a threat
October 17, 2012 Political paralysis on Capitol Hill constrains the United States’ ability to act as a global leader and prevents the government from transforming itself and addressing major issues, a former Defense Department official said Tuesday evening. In an event at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Michèle Flournoy, ...
