Monthly archives: August, 2009

Postal Service Ends Third Quarter with $2.4 Billion Loss

News release: “The U.S. Postal Service ended its third quarter (April 1 – June 30) with a net loss of $2.4 billion, including a non-cash adjustment that increased workers’ compensation expense by $807 million. Ongoing electronic diversion and the widespread economic recession continued to reduce mail volume, resulting in a $1.6 billion decrease in revenue …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Mail, Government Documents

FindLaw: Judges Order California to Reduce State Prisoner Population

Joel Zand, FindLaw: “A panel of three federal judges ordered the State of California to reduce its inmate population because of prison overcrowding, resulting in the release of approximately 43,000 prisoners during the next two years so that the state’s prisons can operate at 137.5% of their design capacity. In a 184-page opinion, the panel …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research

Energy Market and Economic Impacts of American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009

EIA – Energy Market and Economic Impacts of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009 (08/04/2009): “This report responds to a request from Chairman Henry Waxman and Chairman Edward Markey for an analysis of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA). ACESA, as passed by the …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Legislation

Making Home Affordable Program on Pace to Offer Help to Millions of Homeowners

News release: “Today, the Obama Administration released its first monthly Servicer Performance Report detailing the progress to date of the Making Home Affordable (MHA) loan modification program. The purpose of the report is to document the number of struggling homeowners already helped under the program, provide information on servicer performance and expand transparency around the …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

New GAO Reports: Air Pollution, Climate Change Policy

Air Pollution: Air Quality and Permitting of New Coal-Burning, Electricity-Generating Units in Central Texas, GAO-09-787R, August 04, 2009 Climate Change Policy: Preliminary Observations on Options for Distributing Emissions Allowances and Revenue under a Cap-and-Trade Program, GAO-09-950T, August 04, 2009 Hurricane Katrina: Barriers to Mental Health Services for Children Persist in Greater New Orleans, Although Federal …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

International comparisons of GDP per capita and per employed person for 17 countries, 1960–2008

International comparisons of GDP per capita and per employed person 17 countries, 1960-2008 – Division of International Labor Comparisons July 28, 2009. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of International Labor Comparison “This report presents comparative levels and trends of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and per employed person for …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Pew: The Audience for Online Video-Sharing Sites Shoots Up

The Audience for Online Video-Sharing Sites Shoots Up, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist, July 2009. “The audience for online video sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video continues to grow swiftly across all demographic groups, far outpacing the adoption rates of many other internet activities. Fully 62% of adult …

Subjects: Internet

"Tool uses crowdsourcing to gain insight into what users around the world are experiencing in terms of Web accessibility"

“Herdict is a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Herdict is a portmanteau of ‘herd’ and ‘verdict’ and seeks to show the verdict of the users (the herd). Herdict Web seeks to gain insight into what users around the world are experiencing in terms of web accessibility; or in …

Subjects: Censorship, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management