Stories by Tamara Browning on Federal Newswire


Peace: Wafa Abboud sentenced ‘for betraying the most vulnerable among us’

A New York woman has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for embezzlement while executive director of a nonprofit agency that assists developmentally disabled youth.


Kolb: O'Konski honored for 'the quality of service he consistently delivered' upon retirement

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Deputy Director Peter O’Konski received the Secretary’s Exceptional Service Award upon his retirement after 35 years of federal service.


Newland: Proposed revisions would ‘secure this special trust asset of the Osage Nation for generations’

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has proposed revisions for energy growth for the Osage Mineral Estate on the Osage Reservation, which has headquarters in Pawhuska, Okla.


EPA awards Guam Department of Education nearly $9.9 million for cleaner school buses

The Guam Department of Education is among the recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition.


Private ownership of former upstate New York industrial site called 'huge milestone’

An 11.2-acre vacant property in Colonie, New York, that the federal government remediated of residual radiological contamination has returned to private ownership effective Jan. 5.


Tests demonstrate Hanford Site communications transfer line operational

Testing has been completed to demonstrate that fiber infrastructure and software are operational for a transfer line communications system between the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant and the AP Tank Farm at the Hanford Site.


Lands: Golden Gate National Recreation Area 'will greatly benefit' from new leader

A 31-year veteran of the National Park Service is the new permanent superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area.


Regan: New addendeum 'will help support EPA’s mission to advance environmental justice'

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of the General Counsel released an addendum of the agency’s legal authorities to identify and address cumulative impacts of pollution on underserved communities.


Energy Department seeks applicants for next phase of Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are asking for applicants to participate in the second cohort of the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator program.


Energy Department joins effort to eliminate all carbon emissions from transportation by 2050

A framework developed by several federal agencies that has strategies and actions for removing all carbon emissions from transportation by 2050 has been released.


Easterly: ‘I’m incredibly proud of our team' at CISA

The director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency highlighted the agency’s accomplishments as it enters its fifth year as a federal agency.


Haaland: ‘America’s public lands offer some truly beautiful sites to visit during the winter season’

Ranger-guided snowshoe walks at Crater Lake National Park in Crater Lake, Ore., are underway for the winter season even as the U.S. Department of the Interior has listed the park among 20 public lands people can explore this winter.


Keller: Conference presentation ‘was a great opportunity to highlight’ work, planning at long-term disposal sites

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management’s first-time participating in the Council of State Governments Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee in October 2022 featured a presentation on the history of the Edgemont, S.D., disposal site.


Parker: Removal of trees near historic home ‘necessary to protect the structure and walking paths’

Two trees from the 1800s near the Theodore Roosevelt Home in Oyster Bay, N.Y., have been scheduled for a trim and likely removal by the eastern National Park Service Arborist Incident Response Team because of the fungal Dutch elm disease.


Feaver: 'Pacific Northwest was well prepared for this opportunity' to construct a clean hydrogen hub

The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association in Washington will submit a full application for funding to construct a regional clean hydrogen hub in the Pacific Northwest after its concept paper was approved by the U.S. Department of Energy.


Varner: ‘This beetle is rare, and the fencing is to protect the population'

The Bureau of Land Management Pahrump field office has placed protective fencing at Big Dune in Nye County, Nevada, to protect the rare beetle known as Giuliani’s Dune Scarab from the public.


Buttigieg: Transportation ‘will continue to hold Southwest to its responsibility’ to customers

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has pledged to continue to hold Southwest Airlines accountable for its operational challenges that led to thousands of flight cancellations in December 2022, even as a winter storm that initiated the difficulties subsided.


Clark: DRUM program completed 2022 work with ‘superb cooperation and collaboration of our partner agencies’

A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management program that verifies and validates the condition of mines that provided uranium ore to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission during the Cold War had a busy year in 2022.


Booker: 'Historic infusion of federal funds' will improve New Jersey water, employment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted its first loan from a program specifically intended for "state infrastructure financing authority borrowers," a.k.a. "state revolving-fund programs."


Minor: Employer retaliation can ‘create a chilling effect’ on workers' rights

One of the largest airlines in the United States has been fined after an investigation found to it had retaliated against flight attendants for reporting workplace illnesses.