FederalDaily - November 14, 2007

NATCA Questions FAA South Florida Consolidation Plan

An air traffic control communications breakdown last week illustrates the potential problems with a planned consolidation of facilities in South Florida proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said on Nov 12. NATCA said that on Nov. 9, Palm Beach Tower and TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) lost all communications and radar functions—called an ATC-0—just as an approaching US Airways flight declared an  emergency fuel situation. Eventually, the pilot reached a Miami controller and landed safely at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, but any further delay could have been catastrophic, said Jim Marinitti, the NATCA facility representative at Miami. “This is a perfect example why the FAA’s plan to consolidate the Palm Beach facility with the Miami facility at MIA is dangerous,” Marinitti said. “Redundancy is the key when it comes to these situations.” The FAA wants to move all Palm Beach radar functions to Miami, which the union opposes due to the loss of redundancy and the vulnerability to natural disasters and terrorism. To see more, go to: www.natca.org/mediacenter/press-release-detail.aspx?id=468.

:: Back to Top ::

NTEU Urges Passage of Bill to Expand Federal Telework

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) supports a new House bill that would allow more federal employees to participate in telework programs. The bill, H.R. 4106, was introduced by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce subcommittee. The bill enjoys bipartisan support and would greatly expand telecommuting options, NTEU President Colleen Kelley said on Nov. 9. The bill, the Telework Improvement Act, intends to spur the increased use of telework (or flexiplace) across the federal government and to create a reliable method to measure and track federal telework programs. It would require agencies to develop telework programs that allow employees to telework at least 20 percent of every two-week work period, designate a senior “telework managing officer,” and incorporate telework into continuous operational planning. “Telework has increasingly been viewed as an important tool for ensuring the continuity of essential government services in a time of crisis,” Davis said. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org.

:: Back to Top ::

VA to Create New National Cemetery

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Nov. 9 it will purchase 205 acres of land in Bucks County, Pa.—near Washington’s Crossing Historic Park—as the site of a new national cemetery. The VA will pay about $10.5 million for the property close to the park that marks the site where Gen. George Washington and men of the Continental Army and militia crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776. VA expects to complete the formal purchase of the property by March 2008. Once the purchase is finalized and the cemetery design is complete, initial construction will begin in mid 2008, said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs William F. Tuerk. Burials at the new national cemetery, which will serve more than 580,000 veterans and their families who live in the area, are expected to begin in late 2008. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1416.

:: Back to Top ::