TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMillennials under-represented in federal workforce as a retirement boom looms
Hamilton Turner has the kind of computer engineering and data analysis skills federal employers like the National Security Agency want, but when it came time to head into the workforce, he chose instead a job at OptioLabs, one of Baltimore's up-and-coming cyber startups.
"I'd be going for secret or top-secret positions, and that just wasn't something I was terribly interested in," said Turner, 28. "I can do work where I can't talk about it, but, on the average, I enjoy the camaraderie that comes with being able to share your work."
Turner's choice is one a growing number of millennials are making. The generation now accounts for 36 percent of the civilian workforce but is under-represented in the federal workforce. Adults ages 18 to 34 made up about a quarter of federal workers in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What millennials look for in a job may explain why so many are choosing private-sector work over public service, experts said. While their parents may have sought jobs with stability, a hefty paycheck and the promise of upward mobility, many millennials instead put a premium on positions where they can be creative, work as part of a team and feel they are making a difference.
Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-millennial-workers-20161028-story.html
District Court chief instructs Maryland judges to impose 'least onerous conditions' on bail
Maryland's chief district court judge has issued "cautionary advice" for the court's judges and commissioners on setting bail, following an opinion by Attorney General Brian Frosh that said the state's system of holding defendants in jail because they can't afford to pay cash bail likely would be found unconstitutional.
The letter was sent by District Court Chief Judge John P. Morrissey last week, and instructs judges to impose the "least onerous" conditions on a defendant if the judge determines there are no conditions to release that person on their own recognizance.
"Financial conditions are not an appropriate way of assuring public safety and should not be imposed for the purpose of assuring the detention of the defendant," Morrissey wrote.
On Oct. 11, Frosh sent a letter to five House of Delegates members who sought his opinion, saying judges and court commissioners must take into account the accused's ability to pay before setting bail. He said that if bail is out of reach for a defendant, the courts would find that unlawful.
Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-bail-letter-district-court-20161031-story.html
$13 billion road and bridge backlog big part of upcoming debate
The state's $13 billion backlog of needed road and bridge work is mostly for highway work, heavily focused on south Louisiana, and will play a key role in the upcoming debate on how to improve transportation in Louisiana.
New lanes and other highway improvements account for $10 billion of the backlog, according to a report by the state Department of Transportation and Development. Bridge repairs account for the other $3 billion.
In addition, just four of the state's nine highway districts account for 62 percent of the needed highway upgrades, with the Baton Rouge area alone making up 20 percent of the total.
The other three districts are in the New Orleans, Lafayette and Hammond areas.
Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/weather_traffic/article_32ffae80-9b02-11e6-852c-6b6ab8e1c01b.html
Troll should have exited her Assembly seat graciously
The title of an article in the Oct. 19 Juneau Empire reads, “Outgoing Assembly member snubs political opponents in thank you note.” The article identifies a letter submitted by former Assembly member Kate Troll as a thank you note to the Assembly prior to the Monday meeting where new members would be sworn in. It was hardly a gracious letter. Instead it was poor etiquette and wrong.
Troll lost the areawide seat in the October election to Norton Gregory. On election night, it is customary for candidates to gather in the Assembly chambers when the results roll in to either celebrate or congratulate their opponent. Troll was a no-show. In fact, following the election Troll failed to fulfill her obligations by refusing to attend meetings or vote on any matters before the Assembly. This left her constituents without voice for the remainder of her term. Troll’s actions were wrong.
Instead of attending her final Assembly meeting where she was thanked for her service, she slipped her “thank you” note in the Assembly packets. The note appears to serve two purposes: to thank people she worked with, and to admonish three members who supported Mr. Gregory.
Troll claims that sitting CBJ Assembly members typically don’t weigh in on local elections. What she failed to state is that she did that herself, and not just once. A check of APOC records shows she not only supported Karen Crane in her candidacy for mayor in 2016, but in 2015 Troll supported Greg Fisk against incumbent Mayor Sanford and in 2014 she supported then-candidate Maria Gladziszewski.
Read more: http://juneauempire.com/letters/2016-10-28/troll-should-have-exited-her-assembly-seat-graciously
Fairbanks police officer injured in shooting dies after surgery complications
FAIRBANKS - A Fairbanks police officer who was shot on duty last week, has been hospitalized following complications from eye surgery Thursday.
Fairbanks' acting Police Chief Brad Johnson announced that Sgt. Allen Brandt has died following complications from surgery in a brief, emotional press conference this afternoon.
"Fairbanks lost a hero today," Johnson said, with Fairbanks city Mayor Jim Matherly standing somberly next to him. "I'm sorry to have to let you know that earlier this afternoon, Sgt. Allen Brandt lost the fight. He had surgery yesterday and suffered complications afterward which continued to deteriorate throughout the day and from which he was unable to recover.
"Our community, this department, our family and our friends are hurting. We thank you for all the support you have given us so far, and we ask you for more, for his family, for your department and for yourselves. Let's help each other heal and work through this together."
Read more: http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-police-officer-injured-in-shooting-dies-after-surgery-complications/article_2dba64f0-9d33-11e6-9739-373433452a38.html
Despite objections from mushers, Iditarod will allow phones for 2017 race
Iditarod officials decided Friday to retain a new rule allowing racers on the trail to use cell and satellite phones, rejecting a contingent of mushers who wanted to return to the communication blackouts of the recent past.
The Iditarod Trial Committee Board of Directors met Friday to review its 2017 race rules, including the new two-way communication rule, which it ultimately decided to keep.
The Iditarod board first approved the new rule in May, reversing the race's long-standing, outright ban on two-way communication devices, including cellphones, satellite phones and any electronics that can connect to wireless internet.
Board President Andy Baker, from Kotzebue, said safety concerns during the 2016 Iditarod prompted officials to initially create the new rule. He said that allowing the electronics would provide for a safer race next year.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2016/10/28/despite-objections-from-mushers-iditarod-will-allow-phones-for-2017-race/
Barrow's new name is its old one, Utqiaġvik. Local Iñupiaq leaders hope its use heals as it teaches.
The new-old name for Barrow may take some practice to pronounce, and it's time to start: Utqiaġvik won the nod from a slim majority of city voters earlier this month and now has the state's stamp of approval to take effect Dec. 1.
The name means a place for gathering wild roots and comes from the word now used for potato, utqiq.
Say it this way, with guttural back-of-the-throat sounds for the representative "k" and hard "g" in the middle: oot — kay-ahg — vik.
State officials say they know of just two other rural communities that changed their names in modern times: Nunapitchuk, formerly Akolmiut, which did so in 1983, and Nunam Iqua, which changed from Sheldon Point in 2000.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2016/10/29/barrows-new-name-is-its-old-one-utqiagvik-local-inupiaq-leaders-hope-its-use-heals-as-it-teaches/
Why the Trump movement never really took off in red-state Alaska
Alaska is typically Republican turf, with an all-GOP congressional delegation and three electoral votes that haven't gone to a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson beat Barry Goldwater in the 1964 landslide.
So what explains Alaskans' apparent weak support for Donald Trump?
A poll released by Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski this month showed her party's presidential nominee at 37 percent, only three points up on Hillary Clinton, and an Alaska Dispatch News survey at the end of September showed Trump at 36 percent, a little less than 6 points ahead of Clinton. In the last presidential election in 2012, Mitt Romney got just under 55 percent of Alaskans' votes.
Both of Alaska's Republican U.S. senators, Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, have withdrawn their support from Trump. And Republicans around the state report few signs of a Trump groundswell — even in Ketchikan, the Southeast city of 8,000 that's seen its pulp mill shuttered and its timber industry battered, making it Alaska's closest parallel to the troubled brick-belt factory towns where Trump has found strong support.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2016/10/30/why-the-donald-trump-movement-never-really-took-off-in-red-state-alaska/
Hundreds of American kids are suddenly paralyzed, and doctors don’t know why
LOS ANGELES — Erin Olivera waited weeks for doctors to tell her why her youngest son was paralyzed.
Ten-month-old Lucian had started crawling oddly — his left leg dragging behind his right — and soon was unable to lift his head, following Erin only with his eyes.
She took him to a hospital in Los Angeles, but doctors there didn’t know how to treat what they saw.
Lucian’s legs felt soft as jelly and he couldn’t move them. His breathing became rapid. The left side of his smile drooped as his muscles weakened.
Read more: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/nation-world-news/hundreds-american-kids-are-suddenly-paralyzed-and-doctors-don-t-know-why
State Seeks Big Hike in Harbor Fees
The state Department of Transportation wants to hike fees for unloading cargo at Hawaii ports by about 50 percent over two years in a move that would pay for harbor improvements and likely make most things local consumers buy more expensive.
The Department of Transportation proposes to raise fees for using state wharves 17 percent next month, then 15 percent next July followed by another 15 percent in July 2018.
Compounded, the increases amount to a 55 percent hike and would add about $100 to the charge on a 40-foot container, from $179 today to $277 in 2018.
There also would be a $15 security fee added to each container or shipped item under 60,000 pounds.
Read more: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/18516/55-Hike-in-Harbor-Fees-Transportation-Department-Grabs-for-More-of-Your-Money.aspx
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