Good to Know…Week of April 25, 2011

To read this article, go to: GCN.com

CLEAN ENERGY
Google Sinks $100 Million Into World’s Largest Wind Project
Is Google a search engine, an ad outfit, or a clean energy company? Every day it gets a little harder to answer that question.

To read this article, go to: FastCompany.com

TELEWORK
OPM Issues Guidance on Telework
All federal agencies must establish a telework policy and notify employees of their eligibility to participate in the benefit by June 7, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.

To read this article, go to: Govexec.com

HEALTH CARE
When It Comes to Quality, New Poll Shows Americans Give U.S. Health Care Low Grades
Those with incomes less than $50,000 most likely to view the quality of their care as low.
A new poll shows most Americans believe the quality of U.S. health care is average at best—sober news for the nation’s health care leaders. More than half of American adults surveyed (55%) barely give the quality of American health care a passing grade—a C or D on a standard report card scale.

To read this article, go to: rwjf.org

TAXES
Tax Gains for States, Painful Lag for Locals
States’ tax revenues finished 2010 strong, with 7.8 percent growth in the fourth quarter and solid gains continuing in early 2011, this Institute report shows. Tax collections by local governments, however, declined by 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, driven mostly by declines in property tax collections.

To read this report, go to: Rockinst.org

TRAFFIC CONTROL
IBM Will Go All Watson On Your Commute, Keep You Out Of Traffic
Imagine a world where no one ever gets stuck in traffic–where cars have built-in sensors that can predict where and when future accidents will occur, keeping commuters out of harm’s way. That’s never going to happen.