PVLD Adult Services Blog

Part of Our National Heritage

An audit released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office shows that nearly 80 percent of federal agencies are at risk of illegally destroying public records.  The audit was prompted in part by the loss of the Wright Brothers’ original patent and of maps for the atomic bomb missions in Japan.  The report cites “significant weaknesses” in [...]

Native American Reparations

The U.S. Department of the Interior today announced a settlement involving mismanagement of Native American trust fund accounts.  If approved by a federal court and Congress, the agreement will distribute $1.4 billion in royalty claims to over 300,000 individuals and $2 billion to buy back tribal lands. Tribes charged that the Interior Department had swindled Native [...]

Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009

Edward Kennedy, the senior U.S. senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, died yesterday at the age of 77.  Kennedy had been ailing with a malignant brain tumor since last year. During his long Senate career, the Democrat championed such issues as health care, and rights for women, minorities, and the disabled. But he was also vilified [...]

Green Jobs

The economic stimulus package recently signed by President Obama commits $150 billion over ten years for overhauling federal buildings and schools and weatherizing a million low-income homes a year.  Part of the money will provide skills training for five million “green” jobs. “Green-collar” jobs for more highly-educated workers are also expected to increase.  These will [...]

Commemorative Stamps

The United States Postal Service today announced its 2009 commemorative stamps release schedule.   Among the issues will be 20-stamp set of early television programs, including “I Love Lucy,” “Howdy Doody,” Dragnet,” and “The Twilight Zone.”   The Postal Service will also release a series of four stamps honoring Abraham Lincoln on the 200th anniversary of his [...]

Civic Literacy

A report by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute states that 71% of people in a random sample failed a 33 question test on American civic literacy.  Fewer than half could name the three branches of government.  Elected officials did even worse, scoring 5% lower than non-officeholders. The average score among those who ended their formal education [...]