A Loop Fan sent us one of those little foam-filled, stress-relieving squeeze things the other day. It was most patriotic, a star-shaped item in a flag motif, all red, white and blue. Quite nice.
Better yet, it came from the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the Department of Labor. ODEP "awards competitive grants and contracts to further its mission to increase employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities," according to its Web site. "To date, ODEP has awarded more than $61 million in grants and contracts."
_____In the Loop_____
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British Diplomat Ducks His Gaffe (The Washington Post, Sep 24, 2004)
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Thompson's Trading Spaces (The Washington Post, Sep 22, 2004)
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State Dept. Web Site Still Out of the Loop (The Washington Post, Sep 20, 2004)
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A Late Development in Fontgate (The Washington Post, Sep 15, 2004)
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Harmonizing Energies in Missile Defense (The Washington Post, Sep 13, 2004)
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More In the Loop
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Friday's Question:
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Fine idea. ODEP spent about $2,000 to buy about 1,500 of these little stars, the department estimates, as promotional items. And so they contracted with a sheltered workshop, preferably in Ohio, to make them?
Not exactly. They're imported -- from China, of course.
"We bought them from an American company in . . . New York," Labor Department spokesman Michael Volpe said. "Where they make them, that's free enterprise."
Well, maybe there was a sheltered workshop in Fujian? Or a re-education camp? Prison labor? A child labor sweatshop?
Your tax dollars at work.
Moving On at OPM?
Office of Personnel Management chief Kay Coles James sold her home in Arlington last month, sparking rumors that she was moving back to Richmond and running for statewide office. Republicans on the Hill had been hearing she was going to work for state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore's gubernatorial campaign next year.
These were reinforced by other rumors that she was telecommuting a lot of late and chatting up conservative and religious groups across the state, presumably in preparation for a run.
Well, only one element is true, at least so far.
James sold her home on Aug. 17 for $697,000. This was a house she bought in June 2001 for $450,000. Almost $250,000 in three years? Not bad.
But word at OPM is she sold because the kids are gone, she just hated that old kitchen and she's renting a high-rise in Pentagon City for now and looking over her housing options.
There have been recurrent rumors about her running for office for years, and she's got ties statewide -- Richmond, Roanoke, Northern Virginia and Chesapeake -- so she's "perfectly positioned" for a run, we're told.
On the other hand, OPM folks say she's actually been doing substantially less speaking to groups in recent months than she usually does. In addition, it's said she's happy where she is and, if President Bush wins and wants, she might stick around.
