Government News For Montana: 2/2/14

Friday, February 7, 2014

Baucus Confirmed/ U.S. Jobs

Missoulian: Senate confirms Baucus as U.S. ambassador to China
On the Nomination (Confirmation Max Sieben Baucus, of Montana, to be Ambassador to the People's Republic of China)

Missoulian: World stocks hold gains after weak US jobs data
Employment Situation Summary
“Both the number of unemployed persons, at 10.2 million, and the unemployment rate, at 6.6 percent, changed little in January. Since October, the jobless rate has decreased by 0.6 percentage point. (See table A-1.) (See the note and tables B and C for information about the effect of annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)”

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Nuclear Cheating

Missoulian: Hagel orders urgent push for ethics crackdown
Department of Defense Press Briefing With Rear Admiral Kirby in the Pentagon Briefing Room

“First, following the meeting last week that Secretary Hagel convened with senior leaders of our strategic deterrence enterprise, those leaders have now begun work on an action plan to identify any systemic personnel problems in the nuclear force and the steps necessary to fix those problems.”

Navy Probes Cheating Allegations at Nuke Reactor School

“About 30 of 150 watch-standers at the Navy’s Charleston Nuclear Power Training Unit in South Carolina are being investigated for alleged cheating on a written qualification exam, the chief of naval operations said today.”

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Baucus / Canadian Cold/ Retailer Drops Tobacco/ Union Rules/ Uninsured

Missoulian: Senate committee OKs Baucus to be ambassador to China
U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

National Weather Service

Missoulian: Warmth in Alaska sends chill south to western Montana
Short Range Public Discussion
“Meanwhile, cold high pressure over Western Canada will sink southeastward to the Middle Mississippi Valley by Thursday evening. Upper-level energy and the circulation around the high will trigger light snow over parts of the Northern Intermountain Region and the Northern/Central Rockies through Thursday morning. Additionally, snow will also develop over parts of the Texas panhandle on Thursday morning.”

Missoulian: CVS Caremark plans to stop tobacco products sales

Statement by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on CVS Tobacco Announcement

“CVS Caremark’s announcement that CVS/pharmacy stores will no longer sell cigarettes and other tobacco products is an unprecedented step in the retail industry. We also commend CVS Caremark on their new national smoking cessation program. With more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy locations, this private sector health leader’s new policy will have considerable impact.”

Missoulian: Labor board tries again to change union rules

The National Labor Relations Board Proposes Amendments to Improve Representation Case Procedures

allow for electronic filing and transmission of election petitions and other documents;
ensure that employees, employers and unions receive and exchange timely information they need to understand and participate in the representation case process;
streamline pre- and post-election procedures to facilitate agreement and eliminate unnecessary litigation;
include telephone numbers and email addresses in voter lists to enable parties to the election to be able to communicate with voters using modern technology; and
consolidate all election-related appeals to the Board into a single post-election appeals process.

Missoulian: Administration drills down to find the uninsured

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates

“The U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) program produces timely estimates for all counties and states by detailed demographic and income groups. The SAHIE program produces single-year estimates of health insurance coverage for every county in the U.S. The estimates are model-based and consistent with the American Community Survey (ACS).”