Friday, February 26, 2010

Tommorrow Save our Space Jobs Rally Titusville 3 PM




Every Central Falls teacher fired, labor outraged | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — The full force of organized labor showed up in Central Falls Tuesday, with several hundred union members rallying in support of the city’s teachers and bringing plenty of harsh words for the education officials who were about to fire the entire teaching staff at Central Falls High School.
Health News Florida The U.S. Senate’s $15 billion jobs bill passed today without the $1.2 billion Gov. Charlie Crist counted on to patch a hole in state Medicaid spending. He still hopes Congress will provide the money, he says, but has received no assurance.
States renege on local aid In December, Stephen Laker found himself in an agonizing position. As public health administrator for the Vermilion County Health Department in Illinois, Laker was six days into a $9,500-a-day payroll cycle but he had only $7,000 in the bank.

Think Progress » Stimulus Hypocrite Gov. Bob McDonnell Now Wants The Federal Government To Give Virginia More Money During his gubernatorial campaign, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) repeatedly criticized the Recovery Act, saying that although it was “massive,” he didn’t think it would “have a stimulus effect.” From the Virginian-Pilot in 2009:

Stimulus: 1 - 2.1 million jobs, GDP boost The federal government's economic stimulus created jobs for at least one million people and as many as 2.1 million by the end of last year, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office today concludes.

TEA Party folds when economy revives The "TEA Party,'' that anti-tax, anti big-government movement of people intent on turning out incumbents this year, will "disappear'' as the economy improves

Can NASA's space shuttle program be extended? | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY Some NASA-backers in Congress are trying to push back the retirement of the space shuttles from 2010 until 2015, flying two missions per year to the International Space Station. Many in NASA say it could be done, and safely. Others note there are political, practical and financial questions to consider

Falls” lead the injury pack « The Pump Handle The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has been conducted since 1957 and is one of the main instruments to get a glimpse at the health of the US population.

What’s in a name? A big Tea Party mess More legal wrangling over just who can rightfully claim the “Tea Party” trademark …
Some 34 plaintiffs are now listed in the federal suit against Orlando attorney Fred O’Neal, who last year registered the name Tea Party of Florida as an official state party. The plaintiffs claim that O’Neal and his associate, anti-tax activist Doug Guetzloe, don’t really represent the Tea Party movement

Senate intends to extend unemployment benefits The Senate is expected to vote as early as Tuesday to extend the law that provides extra unemployment benefits and health-care subsidies for another 30 days, starting March 1

Thursday, February 25, 2010

States renege on local aid In December, Stephen Laker found himself in an agonizing position. As public health administrator for the Vermilion County Health Department in Illinois, Laker was six days into a $9,500-a-day payroll cycle but he had only $7,000 in the bank.

Think Progress » Stimulus Hypocrite Gov. Bob McDonnell Now Wants The Federal Government To Give Virginia More Money During his gubernatorial campaign, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) repeatedly criticized the Recovery Act, saying that although it was “massive,” he didn’t think it would “have a stimulus effect.” From the Virginian-Pilot in 2009:

Stimulus: 1 - 2.1 million jobs, GDP boost The federal government's economic stimulus created jobs for at least one million people and as many as 2.1 million by the end of last year, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office today concludes.

TEA Party folds when economy revives The "TEA Party,'' that anti-tax, anti big-government movement of people intent on turning out incumbents this year, will "disappear'' as the economy improves

Can NASA's space shuttle program be extended? | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY
Some NASA-backers in Congress are trying to push back the retirement of the space shuttles from 2010 until 2015, flying two missions per year to the International Space Station.

Falls” lead the injury pack « The Pump Handle The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has been conducted since 1957 and is one of the main instruments to get a glimpse at the health of the US population.

What’s in a name? A big Tea Party mess More legal wrangling over just who can rightfully claim the “Tea Party” trademark …
Some 34 plaintiffs are now listed in the federal suit against Orlando attorney Fred O’Neal, who last year registered the name Tea Party of Florida as an official state party. The plaintiffs claim that O’Neal and his associate, anti-tax activist Doug Guetzloe, don’t really represent the Tea Party movement

Senate intends to extend unemployment benefits The Senate is expected to vote as early as Tuesday to extend the law that provides extra unemployment benefits and health-care subsidies for another 30 days, starting March 1.

Bolden: I’m getting ready to shut down Constellation NASA Chief Charlie Bolden isn’t a popular man in Congress, at least not with the Florida and Alabama delegations. Bolden has bought into President Barack Obama’s plan to cancel the Constellation moon-rocket program, use commercial rockets to take astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station and turn NASA into a high-tech research factory tasked to develop innovative technologies that will eventually permit humans to fly to the moon, asteroids and Mars.

Amtrak’s CEO wants new liability deal on SunRail tracks Pulse Amtrak’s CEO is continuing to demand that the Florida Legislature give his passenger trains the same liability deal the state gave SunRail and is threatening to end a track-sharing agreement if he doesn’t get it.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Two Brevard U.S. Represenatatives Disappointed with Space Budget

Among those disappointed by President Obama's pivotal space budget were Brevard County's two U.S. Representatives. Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, the Democrat whose district includes Kennedy Space Center, and Congressman Bill Posey, whose district includes space worker and contractors, had fought to extend the life of the shuttle fleet or boost development of the Orion -Ares spacecraft system for trips to the moon and Mars. We got neither and expect a net loss of about 6,000 space jobs.

President Can't Cut Constellation Without Congressional Approval | Universe Today

With all the speculation currently making the rounds about Obama axing the Constellation program and ending the possibilities of humans returning to the Moon anytime soon, it was brought to our attention by a reader that under the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 3288, passed on September 17, 2009, Congress inserted a clause in the language of the FY2010 NASA funding bill that would prevent President Obama from terminating the Constellation program without Congressional approval

Battle brewing over Obama's NASA plan | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's new plan for NASA could spark a fiery battle on Monday when it reaches the halls of Congress, where the agency's current vision to send American astronauts back to the moon enjoys strong bipartisan support.

Local shuttle job-loss report released | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

The long-awaited Aerospace Workforce Outlook Report - Phase III has been released, confirming earlier reports that some 6,400 to 7,000 of 9,160 total shuttle related workers will lose their jobs as the shuttle stops flying.

floridatoday.com | The Flame Trench | Florida Today's Space Team Blog

The Boeing Company laid off 36 workers today, a mix of engineers and support staff at Kennedy Space Center who received 60-day notices of job termination.

AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | Space: The Last Frontier for Outsourcing

Check out this video of workers at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center who talk about the thrill, responsibility and pride of playing important roles in the space shuttle missions.

Democratic lawmakers turn up heat on NASA’s IG

WASHINGTON — Three of NASA’s top Democratic allies in Congress want to oust the space agency’s inspector general and are pressuring the White House to fire the controversial presidential appointee.