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Entry bubble Help for Haiti

By: Jake | January 18, 2010 | Category: General

MLK pictureToday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and like last year the Corporation for National and Community Service honors Dr. King’s legacy by asking Americans to make the King Holiday a national day of service at Serve.gov.

Haiti continues to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck last Tuesday. Serve.gov suggests that in addition to doing something in your community, you also do something to help those in Haiti. The best way you can do this is through a financial contribution.

The Federal Trade Commission blogged about how to donate safely last week. Below are some ways you can make a donation.

Finally, if you are looking for a loved one, The State Department Operations Center has set up the following phone number for those in the U.S. and Canada seeking information about U.S. citizens in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747. You can also send an email to the State Department.  Please be aware that communications within Haiti are very difficult at this time.

Help for Haiti: Learn What You Can Do

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Entry bubble Haiti Earthquake Information

By: Jake | January 14, 2010 | Category: General

Haitian Map From World Fact BookIn response to the devastating earthquake Tuesday in Haiti, the National Contact Center, where my main role is quality assurance, has been quite busy. We take calls at 1.888.407.4747 for the Department of State, specifically from people who are looking for U.S. citizens over there. I wanted to point you towards some resources and mention I'll have a more extensive list Monday. Please look for current information on the situation here. Also, if you are interested in making a financial contribution please read this blog post from the Federal Trade Commission about giving wisely. Again, I'll have more for you on Monday. 

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Entry bubble Students and Social Networking

By: Jess | January 14, 2010 | Category: General

person at computerI feel like every day I read something that tells me watching TV or being on a computer is going to rot my brain, but this morning was the first time I heard a positive study that said spending lots of time on social networking sites didn't have any negative effect on students' grades. So all that time I spent finely tuning my Facebook skills in college was apparently not making me any dumber.

Plus the study found that many students who used social networking sites used them for educational reasons or to hunt down job opportunities. It's all about who you know in the job market these days and students might be able to expand those networks through sites like Facebook and Twitter.

If you're looking to build your social network to include more educational and informative sources, I'd recommend following USA.gov and Pueblo.gsa.gov on Twitter (twitter.com/usagov and twitter.com/pueblo81009) or become our fans on Facebook (facebook.com/USAgov and facebook.com/pueblo81009). We post updates several times a week on topics that are both newsworthy and interesting. You'll get information on the latest recalls, how to apply for student loans or grants and important health advisories.

If you find the information helpful, make sure you share it with your friends on your own social networks.

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Entry bubble Chat with the President's Advisors

By: Colleen | January 13, 2010 | Category: General

I know everyone heaved a great sigh of relief because they now know that the President's State of the Union Address will not coincide WHwith the season premiere of LOST.

But as President Obama's first State of the Union approaches, you have the opportunity to get the inside track on what his advisors are thinking, and in return they want your thoughts on the current condition of this country.

Each morning this week at WhiteHouse.gov, you'll find a guest post from a senior advisor talking about the progress the Administration had made in a particular area. Then, in the afternoon, the advisor will host a live video chat with the public where you can ask anything you want, or just tune in to see what's going on.

  • Wednesday, 12:00 EST: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will talk about health reform.
  • Thursday, TBD: The nation's first Federal Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, will join Norm Eisen, special council to the President for ethics and government reform, to talk about ways in which the President has changed Washington.
  • Friday, 1:00 EST: Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, talks about restoring the economy.

Now is your opportunity to hear and be heard! What issues are you most concerned about? Will you be watching the State of the Union?

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Entry bubble Deadly Radon in Your Home?

By: Joanne | January 12, 2010 | Category: Home and Family

Feet of a baby girl wearing green socks. Text reads "Living Healthy and Green Starts from the ground up. Test your home for Radon. www.epa.gov/radon"

January is National Radon Action Month. I know that your home radon level is not the fun kind of thing you want to think of every day, but it’s one of those things you need to give a little attention to if you want to protect your health and the health of your family.>/p>Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. It accumulates in homes, buildings and drinking water, and causes lung cancer. It is responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths per year in the United States.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you have radon in your home, like I did, you can correct the situation. If you’re wondering if there’s radon in your home, first you need to test your home. The tests are very inexpensive and simple to perform. Just open the canister and walk away from it for a few days. You send the canister off to the lab and they mail you your results. We were shocked to learn that our home had pretty high radon levels, so we wasted no time in contacting a local certified radon mitigation company. The installation of the mitigation equipment took a little less than a day, so that wasn’t so bad.

The best part is knowing that we can breathe easy in our (virtually) radon-free home. So if you don’t know what the radon levels are in your home – get testing!

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