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May 4, 2004
Guard Deployments Spark State Security Concerns
GovPro Newsletter

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Volume 3, Issue 18

The weekly GovPro Newsletter is produced by the editors of Government Product News and Government Procurement Journal.

Visit: http://www.govpro.com a news-, product-, and issue-driven site for all levels of government.

Sponsored by Meyer Products

This Week

Governors Scramble as Guard Goes

Coastal Areas Eligible for Funds

Alternative RFP Evaluation Saves

Barrier Protects Hoover Dam

GovBenefits.gov Adds Spanish Version

GPS to Track Sex Offenders

News of The Weird

Features

Guard Deployments Spark State Security Concerns

In the midst of the largest deployment of state National Guard troops since the Korean War, governors are scrambling to ensure adequate resources are available to combat crises at home and to provide support for soldiers and their families.

According to the most recent statistics, almost 42 percent, or 144,000, of the states 345,000 Army National Guard troops currently are deployed or are preparing for deployment, compared with 32 percent just two months ago. Large numbers are being sent to the hot spots of Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is the largest deployment of National Guard troops since an overall total of 138,000 guardsmen served on active duty during the conflict in Korea in the 1950s.

For full text, visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHrk0AP

Meyer Products

Meyer Products offers more than 35 steel and polyethylene snowplows to fit exact vehicle frame and weight specifications for exceptional performance in all applications. Choose from 7 spreaders for sidewalk to highway coverage. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BGjj0AF

Non-Numerical RFP Evaluations: Making a Good Business Decision

The written offers in response to your Request for Proposal (RFP) have been evaluated and a winner has been selected. Through a traditional numerical rating system, the evaluation spreadsheet shows that out of a possible 100 points, the first place vendor has received 95 points, second place has received 94.5 points, third place has received 93 points, and so on and so forth.

You have a winner, but you do not have a clear winner. How do you explain to the second place offeror that they lost by one-half of a point? Where exactly did they lose that one-half of a point? Realistically, there are no reasonable explanations for such an insignificant difference in score.

For full text, visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHrl0AQ

Bobcat

Why spend taxpayer money on two or more machines when one machine will do? Bobcat presents the Toolcat(TM) 5600 -- built to handle many jobs with a wide choice of attachments! Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHd20AE

EPA Commits $10 Million to Protect Nations Beaches

The Bush Administration announced nearly $10 million in grants available for beach monitoring and notification programs to eligible coastal states, territories, including those bordering the Great Lakes and tribes to help meet the new requirements under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000.

For full text, visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHrm0AR

News

Counter-Terrorism Barrier Protects Hoover Dam

As part of homeland security protection efforts at the Hoover Dam, a high- security, shallow-foundation barrier has been installed. The 60-year-old dam, located about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, NV, is an integral part of water delivery and energy generation for the entire Southwestern United States. The DSC501, produced by Delta Scientific, is an advanced counter-terrorism barrier system that meets the government's highest certification levels. It was designed for the U.S. Navy and is used at military bases around the world as well as at U.S. embassies. Set in a foundation only 18 inches (46 cm) deep, the barrier is able to survive and operate after a 1.2 million foot pound impact.

Labor Department to Expand GovBenefits.gov

The U.S. Department of Labor celebrated the second anniversary of the government-to-citizen eGov initiative. The event demonstrated the effectiveness of the award-winning Web site for the American public, including the debut of GovBenefits.gov En Espanol and expanded state program information. Since its inception, GovBenefits.gov has provided official government benefit eligibility information to more than 11 million visitors, and generated nearly 1.8 million citizen referrals to benefit programs tailored to their needs. More than 500 federal and state assistance programs currently participate in the Web site, which has earned an Excellence.gov Award from the Industry Advisory, among many other prestigious awards. Visit http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHrn0AS to learn first- hand how GovBenefits.gov is redefining citizens' access to benefit information.

An Eye in the Sky Could Watch Over PA Parolees

Pennsylvania State Rep. Bev Mackareth (R-York) hopes to set up a statewide tracking system for sex offenders using global positioning system (GPS) technology. Expected to be unveiled this month, the proposed legislation calls for prisoners categorized as "sexually violent predators" to wear GPS-based ankle bracelets after being released from prison. Judges could also request other classes of sex offenders to wear them as well. "Clearly, there have been situations where someone says they will re-offend, but they can't keep him in prison any longer," noted Mackareth, who sponsored the bill. GPS tracking provides real-time data on offenders 24 hours a day, in contrast to older electronic monitoring tools, which only informed parole officers when offenders left their homes or failed to observe curfews. But receivers can stop functioning due to the weather, coverage problems, and hilly terrains, and criminals can remove the bracelets as well, opponents say. Satellite tracking typically costs $10 to $12 per day, in contrast to about $4 per day for electronic monitoring.

News of the Weird: Bizarre but true stories about real people. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BHro0AT

Links

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Strong Hold offers heavy-duty, 12-gauge steel cabinets, tables, and desks with 14-gauge shelves. The strongest storage units available. Visit: http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BGz50Ac

Crown Equipment designs, manufactures, distributes, services, and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. http://list.pentonmedia.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efjM0D8eaH0JQA0BC4E0Ae

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