They are two of Washington’s architectural and historical gems: The Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building on the Mall. The good news is that both are slated for renovation and what the bureaucrats like to call “re-purposing.” The bad news is that, in both cases, the process is headed in the wrong direction. Read full article > >

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What D.C. doesn’t need: a Trump Tower

They are two of Washington’s architectural and historical gems: The Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building on the Mall. The good news is that both are slated for renovation and what the bureaucrats like to call “re-purposing.” The bad news is that, in both cases, the process is headed in the wrong direction. Read full article > >

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What D.C. doesn’t need: a Trump Tower

With its wooden sign in imperfect French advertising “frittes, ales, moules” seven days a week, Granville Moore’s on H Street NE looks like any other hip gastropub. But its exposed brick and chalkboard menu of craft beers belie the tavern’s rich history. In the 1950s, the Formstone row house housed the office of Granville Moore, one of the city’s most respected African American doctors. Read full article > >

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Heritage trails mark the path to preserving D.C. history

The Congressional Budget Office has found that the federal government pays slightly more in average wages and significantly more in benefits than the private sector. But the advantages mostly accrue to less-educated workers, while compensation for federal employees with professional and doctoral degrees lag significantly behind their private-sector counterparts. Read full article > >

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CBO: Federal workers make more than their private-sector counterparts

The National Audit Office criticises an £80m Home Office programme to equip police forces with Blackberrys and other mobile devices.

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Blackberrys for police criticised

The National Audit Office criticises an £80m Home Office programme to equip police forces with Blackberrys and other mobile devices.

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Blackberrys for police criticised

Even as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was preparing a strategic plan designed to improve its problem-plagued federal retirement program, the Army was informing its annuitants of yet another setback — delayed interim payments. Read full article > >

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Federal retirees face confusion, possibly payment delay

Even as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was preparing a strategic plan designed to improve its problem-plagued federal retirement program, the Army was informing its annuitants of yet another setback — delayed interim payments. Read full article > >

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Federal retirees face confusion, possibly payment delay

The government has overestimated the number of people who will be helped back into employment by its work programme, the National Audit Office says.

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Warning over back-to-work scheme

Updated at 3:21 p.m. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) will not seek reelection this year. Hinchey will make the announcement official on Thursday at 1 p.m. eastern time, when he will speak at an historic sight in Kingston, N.Y., according to a release from his office. Read full article > >

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Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey to retire

If acknowledging a problem is the first step toward fixing it, the Office of Personnel Management took a step Tuesday when it sent a Strategic Plan for Retirement Services to Congress. OPM’s retirement services operation is not known for providing service, at least not good service, to federal retirees. Tales of long waits for full annuity checks and unanswered calls to OPM are legendary. The first line of the strategic plan makes the fundamental problem clear: Read full article > >

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Federal Diary: OPM has plan to fix retirement program

The Christmas cookies are gone, the Hanukkah doughnuts have been eaten and millions of Americans have made New Year’s resolutions to eat better . But in a few weeks, more sugary temptations will find their way into the office and onto adorable stands outside the grocery store. That’s right, Girl Scout cookie season is nearly upon us. And this year, to mark the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting, a new cookie will make its debut. Meet Savannah Smiles , a bite-sized treat with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar and a lemony kick. The name was inspired by the home of Girl Scout founder, Juliette Gordon Low . Read full article > >

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Meet Savannah Smiles, the new Girl Scout cookie

This year was the second warmest on record for the UK, the Met Office says.

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2011 ‘second warmest’ year in UK

The Met Office issues an amber warning for high winds affecting much of central, southern and western Scotland on Wednesday.

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Met Office warns of severe gales

Arrests for football related disorder in England and Wales are at a record low, with just over 3,000 people arrested last year, the Home Office says.

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Football arrests ‘at record low’