FederalDaily - September 5, 2006
Senator Urges Adding Controllers
In the wake of the tragic crash of Comair Flight 5191 in Lexington, Ky., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.,
urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to move aggressively to hire more air traffic controllers.
FAA has acknowledged it violated its own policies by having only one controller assigned to the airport
the morning of the crash, which killed 49. Murray sent a letter Aug. 31 to FAA Administrator
Marion Blakey urging the agency to focus its resources on ensuring that a well-trained and experienced
controller workforce is in place to guarantee public safety. Further, Murray asked Blakey to explain
why FAA’s latest staffing plan would have fewer trained controllers on board this year; why FAA
failed to detect violations of its staffing policy prior to the crash, and why the agency’s November
2005 safety directive was not issued in writing. Since the crash, the agency has discovered similar
violations at six other FAA towers, Murray said. To see more: http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=262278.
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EPA Becomes 100% Green Powered
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has closed a deal making it the first federal agency to
purchase renewable energy, or "green power," equivalent to 100 percent of its annual electricity
needs. The agency signed a contract with West Coast-based 3 Phases Energy Services to purchase more
than 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable energy certificates, effective Sept. 1. The arrangement
extends annual green-power purchases to more than 190 EPA facilities nationwide, the agency said Aug.
31. This purchase brings the agency total to nearly 300 million kWh per year, which is equivalent to
100 percent of the electricity EPA uses nationwide annually. It is enough electricity to power 27,970
homes for a year. “At EPA, we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk,” said EPA Administrator
Stephen L. Johnson. The program offsets demand for conventional electricity sources by supporting such
renewable energy sources as wind power, geothermal sources and biomass—primarily through the
purchase of renewable energy certificates. For more info:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972
852562e7004dc686/2ff6d33f0f6e9a7d852571db0059fe22!OpenDocument
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FTC Shuts Down Postal Job Scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) closed down a Tennessee marketing scam that was selling prep materials
for post office jobs that didn’t exist, the agency said Aug. 31. Jeffrey Charles Lord and his
company, Job Resources, Inc. agreed to halt the operation and pay FTC a settlement of $105,000. The
FTC charged that the operation misrepresented an affiliation with the U.S. Postal Service and the availability
of postal jobs, as well as that getting a passing score on a postal entrance exam guarantees applicants
a job. The FTC also alleged that using the firm’s test preparation materials would not help anyone
to pass the postal exam, contrary to the defendants’ claims. The settlement also prohibits the
defendants from misrepresenting any material fact about other products they continue to sell. The complaint
and settlement were entered in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on August
29. To see more: www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/08/postaljobscam.htm.
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