Helicopters Gone Wild
From: Honolulu Civil Beat “Commercial helicopter tours in Hawaii are a bane to grounded residents, but a popular tourist activity that has proven a successful business for a handful of tour companies in the islands. The lack of regulation and lucrative nature of these commercial ...
This Trump Appointee Has a History of Fighting the National Weather Service. Will Scott and Rubio Support Him Anyway?
From: Tampa Bay Times “President Donald Trump’s pick to run the federal agency in charge of weather forecasting and water monitoring hit a snag this month. A federal report alleged widespread sexual harassment at AccuWeather, the former company of his nominee, Barry Myers. It’s ...
Organizations Team up to Produce Survival Guide for Government Whistleblowers
From: Federal News Network “Few federal management challenges are as vexing as how to deal with whistleblowers. For whistleblowers, things can be even tougher. They face retaliation and job loss. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Project on ...
EPA Administrator Asked to Back Up Climate Claims Made on TV With Science
From: Ars Technica “In an appearance on CBS News in late March, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler told Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett that the threat posed by climate change is “50 to 75 years out.” Now, environmental lobby group ...
Congress Stonewalled on Access to Mining Data
From: The Timberjay “It appears the Trump administration is continuing to stonewall public records requests filed by congressional committees looking into federal decision-making related to two Minnesota copper-nickel mining projects. Congressional committees are examining a number ...
Plan to Drill in Alaskan Wildlife Refuge Downplays Climate Impact, U.S. Agency Argues
From: Science Magazine “Plans to drill Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have underestimated the effects of climate change, one arm of the Interior department is warning another. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) pointed to several aspects of climate change that were ...
Scientists Weigh in on CDC Decision to Exclude Cancer From PFAS Health Study
From: The Intelligencer “PA trio of scientific experts have vouched for the justification used by a federal health agency last month to explain why it plans to exclude cancer from an upcoming health study into toxic firefighting chemicals, which have impacted communities along the ...
Agencies Break Ranks Over ANWR Climate Analysis
From: E&E News “Plans to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have underestimated the effects of climate change, one arm of the Interior Department is warning another. The Fish and Wildlife Service pointed to several aspects of climate change that were minimized or absent in ...
Group Challenges Reassignment of Former Grand Teton Superintendent
From: Casper Star Tribune “A federal government watchdog group is challenging the legality of David Vela’s reassignment to the National Park Service’s acting deputy director of operations role in Washington, D.C. Superintendent of Grand Teton National Park since 2014, Vela was ...
Repercussions for Revealing Corruption
From: Voices for Transparency “Once a whistleblower’s identity has become known, broad public support and public recognition of their courage can serve as a buffer against further retaliation and mistreatment. As Stephanie emphasised, however, the best case scenario is usually to ...
Assembly sends another letter for Tongass timber sale information
From: KFSK “The Petersburg borough assembly will try again to get some answers about timber sale oversight and administration on the Tongass National Forest. The assembly Monday voted unanimously to send a second letter to U.S. Forest Service chief Vicki Christiansen seeking ...
Watchdog Calls for NPS Probe
From: Politico “The watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a complaint with the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General alleging that the National Park Service illegally named David Vela its acting deputy director of operations. Vela, ...
Advocates Challenge Park Service on Deputy Director Appointment
From: Bloomberg “The Interior Department short-circuited the Senate’s role in confirming a key political leader at the National Park Service, according to an April 17 complaint from a good government group. The April 15 appointment of David Vela as the park service’s acting ...
Federal Appeals Board: Better Defunct or With Trump Appointees?
From: The Washington Post ““Given this administration’s track record on appointments in general, and on employee rights in particular, and general hostility to the civil service, we are very concerned about having a board with a majority of Trump administration appointees,” ...
Fish and Wildlife Service Sued for Failure to Disclose Use of Bee-Toxic Pesticides and GMO Crops in Wildlife Refuges
From: Beyond Pesticides “The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) announced on April 3 that it is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for its failure to release public records, despite multiple FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests, that would reveal on-the-ground ...
Senate Votes 56-41 to Confirm Swamp Creature David Bernhardt as Trump’s Interior Secretary
From: Red, Green and Blue “The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) described Bernhardt as a “monumentally bad pick to lead Interior,” noting that the former gas and oil lobbyist sets a “new low bar for regulatory capture.” “The Senate has set a terrible ...
Does the Assange Indictment Endanger Press Freedom?
From: POGO ” Indeed, the Project On Government Oversight just released a new book, Caught Between Conscience and Career, in partnership with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Government Accountability Project, that includes a chapter on digital best practices ...
Whistleblower Protections Still Incomplete, Groups Say
From: FedWeek “Three groups that advocate for whistleblowers say that further protections are needed including creating a right for federal employees to have jury trials in federal court when they claim they have been retaliated against for their disclosures. The groups—the Project ...
No Verdict in Sight on Safety of Crumb Rubber Fields, Prompting Angst All Around
From: Fair Warning “In December, a branch of the CDC called the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry asked for more time to collect additional data and samples. The agencies already have missed at least two target deadlines – one in 2016 and another in 2017 – to ...
Senators Under Pressure to Stop NOAA Nominee After Sexual Harassment Revelations
From: Think Progress “A government employee group is urging Senate leadership to halt the nomination of former AccuWeather CEO Barry Lee Myers to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The call was prompted by the release of a federal investigation document ...
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