Pensions

• Mental Health First Aid Training Now Offered for Fairfax County, Virginia Employees
• Source: Washington Post   |   Fairfax County, Va.   |   February 7, 2013
• Fairfax is moving to provide basic mental health training to more employees, particularly those who deal with the public every day.

• Giving Public Workers the Tools for Efficiency
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   February 6, 2013
• Instead of outside experts, Denver's mayor is relying on city employees to find savings and deliver better services. The results so far are promising.
• 1 Comments

• At Immigration Hearing, Mayor Julian Castro Spars with House Committee
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   Nation   |   February 6, 2013
• In its first hearing of 2013 on immigration reform, Republicans on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee sparred with San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro over the merits of comprehensive immigration reform.
• 3 Comments

• New York City’s Longtime Chief Medical Examiner Quietly Retires
• Source: New York Times   |   New York City   |   February 6, 2013
• Dr. Charles S. Hirsch was appointed to the position back in 1989 by Mayor Edward I. Koch, recently deceased.

• Nebraska Lt. Gov. Sheehy Resigns Amid Scandal
• Source: Omaha World-Herald   |   Nebraska   |   February 4, 2013
• Rick Sheehy, who served eight years in his post, resigned abruptly after the newspaper contacted him about the 2,300 phone calls to four women, other than his wife, during the past four years on a state-issued cellphone.

• Washington to Hire Professional Pot Consultant
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Washington   |   February 1, 2013
• For perhaps the first time, an intimate knowledge of marijuana -- its consumption, growth and distribution -- isn't going to land you in jail in Washington. It just might earn you a job with the state government.

• District of Columbia's Chief Financial Officer Retiring
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   February 1, 2013
• Washington, D.C.’s longtime Chief Financial Officer announced his retirement Friday, just days after the city reported one of its largest budget surpluses in recent memory.

• Kentucky's Outlook Downgraded
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   February 1, 2013
• Kentucky’s finances received a blow late Thursday after Standard & Poor’s rating service downgraded the commonwealth’s outlook to negative from stable.

• Maryland Lt. Gov. Redefines the Job to Work for Him
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Maryland   |   January 30, 2013
• There’s a running joke in state government that nobody is sure what a state’s lieutenant governor is actually supposed to do.
• 3 Comments

• Fat Cat Public Retirees? Think Again.
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   January 30, 2013
• Some say one of the biggest misconceptions about public retirees is that pensions are making people rich.
• 56 Comments

• Wyoming Schools Superintendent Sues over New Law
• Source: Casper Star-Tribune   |   Wyoming   |   January 30, 2013
• The new law replaces the superintendent of public instruction as head of the state Department of Education with a director appointed by the governor.

• New York Gov. Cuomo's Pension Proposal Puzzling
• BY: Jonathan Walters   |   January 29, 2013
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to let municipalities short their pension payments for the next quarter century uses fuzzy math, writes Governing's Jonathan Walters.
• 3 Comments

• In Rare Move, Michigan Gov. Snyder Asks Supreme Court to Rule on Right to Work
• Source: Detroit News   |   Michigan   |   January 29, 2013
• Gov. Rick Snyder took the rare step of asking the Michigan Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the new public and private sector right-to-work laws before labor unions try to tie them up in court.
• 2 Comments

• Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to Step Down
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   Nation   |   January 29, 2013
• After serving for all four years of the president's first term, LaHood is departing at a key time of transition in the transportation community.

• Collective Bargaining Likely to be a Big Issue in Legislatures This Year
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   January 28, 2013
• The AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions, expect at least 20 states to consider some type of restriction on payroll deductions of union dues by public employers as well as restrictions to the bargaining process.