Federal Government

While hundreds of thousands of federal workers brace for unpaid furloughs starting next month, Uncle Sam is still looking to hire. In one week alone this month, nearly 2,200 job listings available to the public were posted on USAJobs.gov, the federal government's recruiting site. Add in new postings open only to current or former federal workers , including those laid off, and the number of new openings jumps to more than 4,600. "One thing for sure about hiring freezes: They always begin to melt as soon as they are put into place," said Don Kettl, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy at College Park.

The federal government has an innovation problem — or does it? The answer depends on whom you ask. Federal employees surveyed over the past three years have had a declining view of government innovation. But that doesn't mean Uncle Sam doesn't have pockets of creativity, as highlighted by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The bad news first: Less than 40 percent of federal employees felt that creativity and innovation were rewarded in their agency — a 2.5 percentage point drop from 2011.

If the federal government's job application process seems impenetrable to you, take heart: There are people whose own jobs revolve around demystifying it. Sharon Dee McCrae, an employment specialist with the Susquehanna Workforce Network, a nonprofit that coordinates workforce development programs in Harford and Cecil counties, is one of those people. A certified federal job search trainer and career coach, McCrae runs workshops and works one-on-one with applicants. What are the big differences between applying for a federal job and applying for a private-sector one?

James and Faye Fisher of Bel Air announce the engagement of their daughter, Allyson Renee Fisher, to Michael Christopher Bouyea, son of Jane Bouyea Casey of Fairport, N.Y., and the late Robert Bouyea. The bride-to-be is a graduate of Bel Air High School and Towson University with a bachelor of science in psychology. The prospective groom is a graduate of Fairport High School in Fairport, N.Y. He holds degrees in information decision technology management from Rochester Institute of Technology and Iona College.

The outcome of last week's presidential election has vindicated the wisdom of Maryland's early decision to begin setting up a state health exchange where consumers can shop for affordable health insurance coverage. President Barack Obama's victory virtually assures that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act he signed in 2010 will go into effect as planned in 2014. Having survived constitutional challenges in the Supreme Court earlier this year and an election-year campaign pledge by GOP challenger Mitt Romney to dismantle the law if elected, states across the country must now start setting up similar exchanges or face having the federal government do it for them.

If Maryland was not adjacent to the federal government, which has overspent revenues by close to $5 trillion in the last five years, the Maryland economy would make Michigan's economy look good ("Jobs: a silver lining," June 21). Also money is not the answer to improving education. Getting parents of lower income kids involved is. But I understand that is not politically correct in some circles. Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville

The federal government announced the creation of 106 new accountable care organziations, including five in Maryland, that will provide coordinated care to Medicare patients. Accountable Care Organizations are groups of doctors, hospitals, clinics and other health care providers created under health reform that work together to care for patients. The hope is that the coordinated care will help reduce medical errors and result in cost savings by  keeping people healthier. More than 250 accountable care organizations have been created around the country since passage of health reform.

Florence P. Haseltine knows the power of scientists meeting face to face. The former researcher at the National Institutes of Health notes a list of milestones achieved through networking and collaboration at conferences, such as the deliberations that led to advances that helped slow the spread of HIV. Now Haseltine, former director of the Center for Population Research of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Rockville, worries...

Regarding your story about "unconscious bias" against blacks in federal jobs, since blacks make up 13.1 percent of the population and 17.8 percent of the federal workforce how can this be an issue ("Study finds 'unconscious bias' against blacks in federal jobs," March 24)? Also, the article just talks about obstacles and bias. None of the "what to do" items in the gray box are actions blacks can take to help themselves. Once again, the root issue is not addressed. I recruited for many years at local colleges, and Morgan State University students were, on average, by far the least prepared to advance in the workplace.

Next month, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management rolls out the Pathways programs, created by President Barack Obama in an effort to better attract young people to federal government jobs. The programs aim to streamline and standardize recruiting, application and hiring for interns, recent graduates and presidential management fellows across the federal government, and to increase the percentage of interns who become full-time federal employees. The Washington-based Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages young people to pursue careers in the federal government.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. " - Thomas Jefferson My recent column on the challenges associated with the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program elicited numerous and very personal stories from readers about how individual (disabled) recipients depended on the program for daily maintenance. And, many asked, how dare I (and others of my ilk) question such a vital program?

When city or county firefighters have a family event or unexpected obligation pop up on a workday, their solution is familiar to most shift workers: They find a colleague willing to trade hours. But for the roughly 10,000 firefighters employed by the federal government at places such as the Naval Academy and Fort Meade, law limits the ability to swap shifts — a restriction that they say causes them to miss birthdays, graduations and personal emergencies. And so the small federal firefighting force — including about 350 in the Baltimore-Washington region — is again pushing Congress to grant them the same flexibility to alter schedules that their local counterparts have had for decades under the Fair Labor Standards Act. "There are things you miss, like when your child has a play, or some sort of activity," said Trenton Massenberg, 47, a fire captain at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda.

Regarding your story about "unconscious bias" against blacks in federal jobs, since blacks make up 13.1 percent of the population and 17.8 percent of the federal workforce how can this be an issue ("Study finds 'unconscious bias' against blacks in federal jobs," March 24)? Also, the article just talks about obstacles and bias. None of the "what to do" items in the gray box are actions blacks can take to help themselves. Once again, the root issue is not addressed. I recruited for many years at local colleges, and Morgan State University students were, on average, by far the least prepared to advance in the workplace.

Typical daily schedule for a member of the United States Congress: •8:30 a.m. - National Wind Energy Association: to discuss wind production tax credit. •10 a.m. - National Association of Manufacturers: to discuss accelerated depreciation schedules and corporate income tax. •11 a.m. - National Association of Realtors: to discuss home mortgage deduction and capital gains exclusion on home sales. •1 p.m. - The Alliance for Charitable Reform, National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, American Cancer Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association: to discuss enhanced funding for National Institutes of Health and federal charitable deduction.

While hundreds of thousands of federal workers brace for unpaid furloughs starting next month, Uncle Sam is still looking to hire. In one week alone this month, nearly 2,200 job listings available to the public were posted on USAJobs.gov, the federal government's recruiting site. Add in new postings open only to current or former federal workers , including those laid off, and the number of new openings jumps to more than 4,600. "One thing for sure about hiring freezes: They always begin to melt as soon as they are put into place," said Don Kettl, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy at College Park.

After three years of trying, Gov. Martin O'Malley has won approval of legislation that aims to spur construction of towering wind turbines off Maryland's Atlantic coast. Now comes the hard part. Daunting regulatory, political and financial hurdles remain before a wind-driven power plant could be built in the water 10 to 20 miles from Ocean City . Even if all goes right, construction could be four to seven years away, industry and government experts say - long after O'Malley has left the State House.

MY MOTHER would turn over in her grave if I could tell her that my place of employment, the federal Social Security Administration, could actually be shut down because Congress and the president can't approve a budget.I can hear her now: "Paul, if you get a job with the government, you'll never, ever have to worry about your security. You will always have steady employment, steady income, guaranteed advancement. And the federal government will always be right on target concerning the special needs and facilities for its handicapped employees.

Frances Garth Johnson, a career federal worker, died of liver cancer June 12. She was 91 and had lived in Ellicott City since 1987. Mrs. Johnson, who worked for the federal government for decades, was born in Hazlehurst, Miss. She was the ninth of 10 children born to Ada Bird Garth and Llewelyn Branham Garth, a doctor and farmer. After high school, she decided to pursue an education and career in bookkeeping. She attended a two-year business college in Mississippi and earned a bookkeeping degree.

Florence P. Haseltine knows the power of scientists meeting face to face. The former researcher at the National Institutes of Health notes a list of milestones achieved through networking and collaboration at conferences, such as the deliberations that led to advances that helped slow the spread of HIV. Now Haseltine, former director of the Center for Population Research of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Rockville, worries...

The editorial in the Catonsville Times, published March 6, "Sequestration — a political game with real pain") contains these misleading statements: • "Federal government workers and contractors wait nervously to see what these automatic spending cuts will mean in job furloughs and program trims. " • "Spending cuts of $85 billion are the stakes in this cynical game. " • "The cuts are expected to lead to long lines at airports, furloughs of federal workers, reduced access to Head Start programs for young students and reductions in food inspection and border security.