Latest Federal Government News: i360 Gov

Open Source Apps, With a Vendor Assist

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:54:02 -0500

Campus Technology: Every week, it seems, colleges and universities issue press releases extolling their entry into the world of mobile campus apps. Indeed, it has become almost de rigueur for institutions to have these technological trimmings. For some schools, though, the path to a mobile offering is not so easy. Not every school, for example, has in-house developers available to build a native app. Nor, in this era of shrinking budgets, can every school afford to hire a developer.

US call for advice on publicly funded research reignites open access debates

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:53:35 -0500

Inside Higher Ed: After soliciting publishers and higher education groups last fall to comment on the government’s proper role in regulating the availability of federally funded research, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Jan. 30 posted all 377 responses on its website, reviving the debate over open access broadly and stoking controversy in one discipline in particular.

OH: Ohio Broadband Network Speeds to Hit 100 Gbps

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:53:04 -0500

Government Technology: Ohio is investing approximately $10 million to expand the speed of its broadband network to 100 Gbps.

The high-speed boost is something Gov. John R. Kasich believes will foster better research, education, manufacturing and engineering opportunities in Ohio. The announcement was made on Tuesday, Feb. 7, during Kasich’s State of the State address.

CA: Prop. 8 supporters ponder next move

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:52:38 -0500

Los Angeles Times: Reporting from San Francisco—
Proposition 8 backers, who have longed to get to the nation's highest court, debated Wednesday whether to go there immediately or delay by seeking another review of a federal appeals court ruling that overturned California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage.

WA: Washington state legislature votes to approve same-sex marriage

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:51:55 -0500

CNN: (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington State voted Wednesday in favor of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, putting Washington on the path toward becoming the seventh state in the nation to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

States slowly opening courts to cameras

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:51:28 -0500

Stateline: When the U.S. Supreme Court hears challenges to the national health care law this spring, fewer than 2,000 people, including press, guests, and representatives of the public, will be able to see the court proceedings with their own eyes. That’s because the nation’s highest court imposes an unequivocal ban on cameras in the courtroom.

Official: 10 states to get education waiver

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:51:02 -0500

USA Today: WASHINGTON (AP) – President Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.

States Begin Implementing Common Core Standards

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:50:31 -0500

Governing: In 2009, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Chief Council of State School Officers (CCSSO) launched the Common Core State Standards initiative, a state-led effort to construct national academic standards that would prepare students for success in higher education and future careers. In the subsequent years, 45 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the effort. And in 2014-2015, two assessment consortiums will begin administering tests, replacing the old state exams, to gauge whether teachers and students are meeting the goals laid out by Common Core.

US gov't falling behind in social-media race, expert says

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:49:55 -0500

Networkworld: The U.S. government is losing a race in cyberspace -- a social-networking race for the hearts and minds of Internet users, a computer security expert said Wednesday.

Want an iPad? Pentagon CIO thinks you should be able to have one.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:49:28 -0500

Nextgov: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Teri Takai, the Defense Department's chief information officer, kicked off a speech at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Cyberspace Symposium on Wednesday by asking, "Everyone wants an iPad, right?" and then implied quick deployment of tablet computers and smartphones across the department without defining the timeline.

GSA Details Federal Cloud Security Program

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:48:56 -0500

Informationweek: The General Services Administration on Tuesday released extensive new details on FedRAMP, the federal government's new standardized approach to vetting the security of cloud computing services, taking an important step toward launching the program.

Interior Department Tries Again With Cloud Email

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:48:25 -0500

Informationweek: The Department of the Interior has gone back to the drawing board with its plan to find a company to help it move 88,000 employees to cloud-based email and collaboration.

Feds look beyond LightSquared to set GPS interference standards

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:48:01 -0500

Networkworld: A high-ranking federal official and aviation industry leaders called on Wednesday for rules to prevent future interference with GPS, looking beyond a proposal by would-be hybrid mobile operator LightSquared that may be doomed by broad opposition.

LightSquared's proposed cellular data network can't be made compatible with GPS, and the government should set interference standards to prevent future conflicts over companies trying to establish such services, Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari told a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.

Romanian man charged with hacking NASA computers

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:47:33 -0500

Reuters: A Romanian man accused of hacking into NASA computers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles under the online moniker "Iceman" has been indicted on a federal charge, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Robert Butyka is charged with hacking into 25 NASA computers at JPL in December of 2010, causing $500,000 in damage and leaving researchers unable to use them for two months, U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said.

U.S. likely to scale down plans for bases in Japan and Guam

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:46:58 -0500

The Washington Post: TOKYO — The U.S. military will probably scale back plans to build key bases in Japan and Guam because of political obstacles and budget pressures, according to U.S. and Japanese officials, complicating the Obama administration’s efforts to strengthen its troop presence in Asia.

DoD to recommend new combat roles for women

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:46:32 -0500

Army Times: WASHINGTON — For the past decade women in the U.S. military have served, fought and died on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Pentagon rules will catch up a bit with reality, recommending to Congress that women be allowed to serve in more jobs closer to the front lines.

New Workplace Procedures at Air Marshals Service Necessary to Counter Perceptions of Discrimination

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:46:02 -0500

Homeland Security Today: The Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS) has suffered from a culture that triggers high levels of fear concerning discrimination and retaliation among its workforce, concluded the inspector general (IG) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently, triggered by apparent management apathy and isolated incidents that have stoked those fears.

Four Ways the U.S. Could End Up at War with Iran Before the Election

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:45:37 -0500

Time: Most political analysts in Washington believe that war with Iran is unlikely, especially before the November U.S. elections. Politically it would be hard for President Obama to engage in another Middle Eastern war given the war weariness of the U.S. electorate, let alone the question of being able to afford it at a time when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from the Pentagon budget. There also seems little appetite from the international community to wage war with Iran, especially since Tehran is still allowing United Nations inspectors into their nuclear sites and, for the first time in recent history, sanctions seem to be working.

IG Reviewing Overclassification at DoD

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:45:12 -0500

Defense News: The Defense Department’s handling of classified information is getting a wide-ranging review from the DoD inspector general. The review will look at efforts to decrease overclassification and promote information-sharing and transparency, Deputy IG Patricia Brannin wrote in a memo to top officials last October.

Pentagon Inspector General Looks into F-22 Crash Probe

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:44:50 -0500

Air Force Magazine: The Defense Department's Inspector General is investigating the probe conducted by an Air Force accident investigation board on the fatal F-22 crash in Alaska in November 2010.

Budget debate pits military retiree interests against those in active duty, analysts warn

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:44:24 -0500

Government Executive: Military personnel costs for retirees versus active-duty service members are among the “most politically sensitive” competing interests within the fiscal 2013 Defense Department budget process, according to a new analysis from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Ala. panel: Military ID can prove citizenship

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:43:58 -0500

Marine Corps Times: MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A House committee took the first step toward making changes to Alabama’s tough new immigration law.

The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved a bill Wednesday that will allow military service members to buy car tags and complete other business transactions by showing a military identification card instead of a driver’s license. The immigration law approved last year requires people to show proof of citizenship to make such transactions.

Regulatory Approval Is Expected for New Reactors in Georgia

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:43:18 -0500

The New York Times: WASHINGTON — For the first time in over three decades, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to decide to grant a license to build a nuclear reactor — a milestone for an industry whose long-hoped-for renaissance is smaller and later than anticipated.

Energy Department Announces Over $12 Million to Spur Solar Energy Innovation

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:42:52 -0500

EERE: As part of the Obama Administration's blueprint for an American economy built to last, today U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced over $12 million to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to the marketplace through the Energy Department's SunShot Incubator program. The funding will accelerate American innovation in solar energy and manufacturing by supporting advancements in hardware, reductions in soft costs, and the development of pilot manufacturing and production projects.

N.C. panel touts wind energy use

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:42:20 -0500

News and Observer: RALEIGH -- A new study released Wednesday by Gov. Bev Perdue said North Carolina had the largest offshore wind resource on the East Coast and that the state should work with industry to develop the wind energy industry.

The 15-member panel said wind energy along North Carolina's coast and sounds offered significant opportunities for renewable energy and for job creation.