Friday, January 16, 2009

House Speaker Andy Dillon Outlines Legislative Goals. The economy is causing a lot of pain, so state lawmakers should join it by cutting their pay and health benefits, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, told the newly sworn-in House on Wednesday. But that would affect future lawmakers, not current ones. In remarks after he was elected to a second term as speaker, Dillon also said a streamlined state government must do more to help people facing job losses, home foreclosures and mediocre schools. The pay and benefit cuts were among populist themes Dillon struck in a short address, which urged an end to partisan bickering. Dillon called for an overhaul of state taxes, including a possible ballot issue to cut property taxes for homeowners whose home values have dropped. He said he'll push to create statewide, mandatory catastrophic health insurance to cover uninsured and some insured individuals. Dillon also called for repeal of the 22% surcharge on the state's business tax -- a repeal approved by the Republican-controlled Senate in 2008 but not by the Democratic-controlled House. For the full article, see Christ Christoff, "Dillon calls for tax reform, lawmaker cuts", Detroit Free Press, January 15, 2009. [Red Tape Blog] 2:47:03 PM     Celebrate the Inauguration with Us When you live here in Washington, it's hard not to be aware of the historic events we'll host next week. For weeks, everyone's been speculating about how many people will converge on the nation's capital to witness Barack Obama's inauguration. I don't know that I trust any of the predictions, but I do know that for every person who comes, thousands more will be participating from home in spirit. For all of you who will be following the festivities remotely, Gov Gab is offering you a special treat. We've been lucky enough to get press passes to four official Inaugural events, and we're going to bring you a citizen's eye view of all the action! With help from our colleagues at USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov, we'll be using Twitter and this blog to share stories, real-time updates, photos, and more. We're pretty excited, not only to attend these events, but also to be the first government agency to use social media tools to give citizens a behind-the-scenes look at these special parts of our national life. Here's a rundown of the events we plan to cover: The opening ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial, with big name singers like Herbie Hancock, Beyonce, Garth Brooks, and more The Kids' Inaugural Concert on Monday afternoon at the Verizon Center, with performers including The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus The Swearing-In Ceremony on Tuesday morning at the Capitol The Commander-In-Chief's Ball on Tuesday evening at the National Building Museum. But before the excitement begins, we have a pressing question. What do you want to know about these events? What would you like us to cover? The performers, the venues, the attendees? Just our personal experiences? We'll do our best to bring you as much of the information you'd like as possible-just please remember that we're still experimenting with all the tools we'll be using. Hey, if you have suggestions for how to make our coverage better, please tell us that, too! - Editor [Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog] 2:46:10 PM     New Links on our site 11:38:22 AM     Upcoming Events at Hackley Public Library January Chiller Tales January 17 2:00 pm Enjoy scary tales with the Yarnspinners, Muskegon’s favorite storytelling troupe. The shivery tales will fit right in with the shivery weather. Kids will hear spooky classics from world folklore and “make-you-jump” stories from the US. Stories will be aimed at ages 4-8. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Hackley Library Board Meeting January 20 5:30 pm Julia Hackley Room, Hackley Public Library. Open to the public. For more information call 231-722-7276 x 222 Toddler Storytime January 20 6:45 pm Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Voluntary Simplicity January 22 6:00 pm at the Torrent House Saturday Storytime January 24 2:00 pm No registration required for fun and casual Saturday storytimes. Drop in when there isn't a special event. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Friends of the Library Board Meeting January 26 4:00 pm Meets at the Torrent House Monday Storytime January 26 6:45 pm Stories and activities for ages 3-5. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Toddler Storytime January 26 11:00 am Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Digital Camera Workshop January 27, 2009 6:30 - 7:30 pm Charlie Cihak from Radium Photo will demonstrate various digital camera techniques. Check with the Library in January for specific topics. Toddler Storytime > January 27 6:45 pm Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Teen Jewelry Night January 28 6:30 pm Local designer and craftsperson Chelsea Zielinsky will show teens how to make low cost, fabulous-looking jewelry. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Voluntary Simplicity January 29 6:00 pm Meets at the Torrent House Saturday Storytime January 31 2:00 pm No registration required for fun and casual Saturday storytimes. Drop in when there isn't a special event. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. 11:35:59 AM     Write a Resume that Lands an Interview [Job Search] . With the highest unemployment rate in years, your job application is likely competing with a larger-than-ever pool of applicants—meaning you've got to do all you can to stand out from the crowd. Photo by SOCIALisBETTER. The Dumb Little Man weblog offers 12 tips for writing a resume that will land an interview. The tips range from the obvious (be concise) to more useful, like: Figure out what keywords are relevant and use them. Some HR folks don’t read resumes any more. They have software that scans resumes for relevant keywords. Use nouns, like the names of the computer programs you know. Read tons of job descriptions and notice which words are used over and over. Got a clever tip of your own that always works? Let's hear it in the comments. How to Write a Resume That Will Land an Interview [Dumb Little Man] [Lifehacker] 11:23:04 AM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 2/2/2009; 12:10:59 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien