Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, U.S. stock and options markets, which had previously quoted prices in fractions, began quoting in decimals. Since then, various positive and negative effects have been attributed to the transition to decimal pricing. As part of this transition, the major stock markets chose one penny ($.01) as the minimum price variation for quoting prices for orders to buy or sell. However, some electronic trading systems allowed their customers to quote in increments of less than a penny (such as $.001). The use of subpenny prices for securities trades has proved controversial and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a ban against subpenny quoting for stocks priced above one dollar across all U.S. markets. As part of ongoing work that examines a range of issues relating to decimal pricing, GAO reviewed (1) how widely subpenny prices are used and by whom, (2) the advantages and disadvantages of subpenny pricing cited by market participants, and (3) market participants' reactions to SEC's proposed ban."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 extended protections against sex discrimination to students and employees at institutions receiving federal assistance for educational programs or activities. In the 32 years since Title IX was enacted, women have made significant gains in many fields, but much attention has focused on women's participation in the sciences. Because of the concern about women's access to opportunities in the sciences, which receive billions of dollars in federal assistance, this report addresses: (1) how do the Department of Education (Education), the Department of Energy (Energy), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) ensure that federal grant recipient institutions comply with Title IX in math, engineering, and science; (2) what do data show about women's participation in these fields; and (3) what promising practices exist to promote their participation?"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2003, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimated that about 157,000 veterans were legally blind, and about 44,000 of these veterans were enrolled in VA health care. The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the Ranking Minority Member, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee expressed concerns about VA's rehabilitation services for blind veterans. GAO reviewed (1) the availability of VA outpatient blind rehabilitation services, (2) whether legally blind veterans benefit from VA and non-VA outpatient services, and (3) what factors affect VA's ability to increase veterans' access to blind rehabilitation outpatient services. GAO reviewed VA's blind rehabilitation policies; interviewed officials from VA, the Blinded Veterans Association, state and private nonprofit agencies, and visited five Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRC)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides rehabilitation services to legally blind veterans. These services are intended to help them acquire the skills necessary to become more independent. Almost all of VA's rehabilitation services for legally blind veterans are provided at Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRC), an inpatient program. VA reported that the average length of time a veteran waited to be admitted to a BRC increased from 168 to 210 days from fiscal years 1999 through 2003. GAO was asked to examine the accuracy of veterans' wait times for admission to BRCs. GAO's objective was to determine whether the average wait times for veterans seeking admission to BRCs reported by VA were accurate. GAO reviewed VA policies and procedures for determining the average length of time veterans wait to be admitted to a BRC. GAO also visited 5 of VA's 10 BRCs to evaluate the reliability of the data used to calculate wait times."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether section 285.201, Health and Safety Code, requires a hospital district to provide nonemergency public health services to undocumented persons who are otherwise ineligible for those benefits under federal law (RQ-0178-GA)

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COGEMA Engineering Corporation (COGEMA), under a contract from CH2M Hill Hanford Group (CH2M Hill), has performed an ultrasonic nondestructive examination of selected portions of Double-Shell Tank 241-SY-101. The purpose of this examination was to provide information that could be used to evaluate the integrity of the wall of the primary tank. The requirements for the ultrasonic examination of Tank 241-SY-101 were to detect, characterize (identify, size, and locate), and record measurements made of any wall thinning, pitting, or cracks that might be present in the wall of the primary tank. Any measurements that exceed the requirements set forth in the Engineering Task Plan (ETP), RPP-17750 (Jensen 2003) and summarized on page 1 of this document, are reported to CH2M Hill and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for further evaluation. Under the contract with CH2M Hill, all data is to be recorded on disk and paper copies of all measurements are provided to PNNL for third-party evaluation. PNNL is responsible for preparing a report that describes the results of the COGEMA ultrasonic examinations.

Weekly newspaper from Albany, Texas that includes local, county, and state news along with extensive advertising.

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Weekly newspaper from Timpson, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Odem, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Hondo, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Port Aransas, Texas on Mustang Island that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Preparations are being made by the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) to blend Sludge Batch 2 (SB2) with Sludge Batch 3 (SB3) (blend referred to as SB2/3), and implement a frit change from Frit 320 to Frit 418. A series of dry-fed tests have been performed to investigate the effect of waste loading (WL) on the melt rate of the SB2/3-Frit 418 system. As was observed in the SB2-Frit 320 system, dry-fed melt rate furnace (MRF) tests of the SB2/3-Frit 418 system showed that melt rate decreased as the waste loading increased (WL range of 31-43 per cent tested). In addition, waste throughput of the SB2/3-Frit 418 system reached a peak (at approximately 34 per cent WL) with increased waste loading before steadily decreasing (based on MRF tests). Based on this testing, the Immobilization Technology Section (ITS) recommends that the waste loading starting point for DWPF should be approximately 34 per cent when the processing of the SB2/3 begins with Frit 418. The current target waste loading for DWPF is 34 per cent with SB2-Frit 320, and the results from this testing do not indicate any reasons to reduce this target. Then after a period of steady processing,incrementally higher waste …

It was recently discovered that waste being disposed of onsite contained radionuclides that had not been analyzed by the Performance Assessment (PA). These radionuclides had been eliminated from the PA in an earlier screening evaluation because they were not expected to be contained in SRS-generated waste or that received from offsite generators. This Special Analysis (SA) is being prepared to establish the screening criteria and level of evaluation for all radionuclides potentially significant to a Low Level Waste PA or Composite Analysis (CA). The screening methodology recommended by the National Council on Radiological Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has been used to identify those radionuclides that require detailed analysis to derive disposal limits. Of the approximately 2800 radionuclides, a total of 826 were considered by the NCRP to be potentially significant. Approximately 686 radionuclides were eliminated from this analysis due to their short half-life or other properties. Approximately 40 of the 140 remaining radionuclides have been analyzed in the existing PA and waste acceptance criteria established. This SA develops the screening criteria and establishes trigger values to be used to determine the level of analysis required for those radionuclides not analyzed in PA. The results of the SA identified 20 radionuclides …

A number of low-level waste containers that also have PCBs in them contain radionuclides that have not been analyzed in a Performance Assessment. A simple bounding analysis (i.e.,assigning the most restrictive of the trench radionuclide limits to each of the unanalyzed radionuclides and adjusting for differences in Maximum Contaminant Level for selected radionuclides) shows that disposal of these radionuclides will not compromise performance objectives. One intent as expressed in the performance assessment/composite analysis guidance is to ensure that proposed or discovered changes in wasteforms, containers, radionuclide inventories, facility design, and operations are reviewed to ensure that the assumptions, results, and conclusions of the approved Performance Assessment (PA), and Composite Analysis (CA), as well as any Special Analyses (SA) that might have been performed, remain valid (i.e., that the proposed change is bounded by the PA and CA) and the changes are within the bounds of the Disposal Authorization Statement (DAS). The goal is to provide flexibility in day-to-day operation and to require those issues with a significant impact on the PA's conclusions, and therefore the projected compliance with performance objectives/measures, to be identified and brought to the proper level of attention. It should be noted that the term performance measure …

DWPF Engineering personnel requested that a new minimum backup film cooler air flow rate, which will meet the off-gas safety basis limits for both normal and seismic sludge-only operations, be calculated when the air purge to the borescope cameras is isolated from the melter. Specifically, it was requested that the latest calculations which were used to set the off-gas flammability safety bases for the sludge batch 2 and 3 feeds be revised, while maintaining all other process variables affecting off-gas flammability such as total organic carbon (TOC), feed rate, melter air purges, and vapor space temperature at their current respective maximum or minimum limits. Before attempting to calculate the new minimum backup film cooler air flow, some of the key elements of the combustion model were reviewed, and it was determined that the current minimum backup film cooler air flow of 233 lb/hr is adequate to satisfy the off-gas flammability safety bases for both normal and seismic operations i n the absence of any borescope camera air purge. It is, therefore, concluded that there is no need to revise the reference E-7 calculations. This conclusion is in essence based on the fact that the current minimum backup film cooler air …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "American consumers are increasingly drawn to the convenience, privacy, and cost advantages that might be accrued by purchasing prescription drugs over the Internet. However, there is growing concern about the safety of the drugs and the lawfulness of shipping the drugs into the United States through international mail and private carriers. Under current law, the importation of prescription drugs for personal use is illegal, with few exceptions. All prescription drugs offered for import must meet the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and those that are controlled substances also must meet the requirements of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. According to the agencies responsible for enforcing these laws, prescription drugs imported for personal use generally do not meet these requirements. The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Health and Human Service's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are responsible for inspecting and interdicting unapproved prescription drugs that are being illegally imported via the U.S. mail or private carrier. This testimony reflects our preliminary observations from ongoing work to assess federal efforts to enforce the prohibitions on …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been raised about lead in District of Columbia drinking water and how those charged with ensuring the safety of this water have carried out their responsibilities. The 1991 Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) requires water systems to protect drinking water from lead by, among other things, chemically treating it to reduce its corrosiveness and by monitoring tap water samples for evidence of lead corrosion. If enough samples show corrosion, water systems officials are required to notify and educate the public on lead health risks and undertake additional efforts. The Washington Aqueduct, owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, treats and sells water to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), which delivers water to D.C. residents. EPA's Philadelphia Office is charged with overseeing these agencies. GAO is examining (1) the current structure and level of coordination among key government entities that implement the Safe Drinking Water Act's regulations for lead in the District of Columbia, (2) how other drinking water systems conducted public notification and outreach, (3) the availability of data necessary to determine which adult and child populations are at …

Weekly newspaper from Archer City, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Stamford, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.