Last month, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS would discontinue the five-color Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) the federal government instituted in 2002. You will probably remember hearing about the current threat level color code while watching the evening news. By April, the color-coded HSAS will be phased out and replaced by the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS). The NTAS will more effectively communicate information about terrorist threats by providing timely, detailed information to the public, government agencies, first responders, airports and other transportation hubs, and the private sector. The description of the new system makes it seem more transparent than the last system which never really explained the nature of the threats. It’s hard to tell if the new system really is more transparent than the last because there are no current or expired alerts. You can get email updates or follow changes to the new system on Twitter to see for yourself.  Do you think think the new NTAS will be better? And with that it’s time for me to sign off GovGab. I’ve been asked to do a six-month detail to develop policies to help the government create good mobile products for citizens like yourselves to use. I am excited about the new challenge, but it’s bittersweet for me. I want to thank you all for your support of my posts since 2007. The future will be grand, but you’ve made my years here really fun.

Related posts:

  1. Medicare Card, NINR, Welcomes Four New Members, National Advisory Council for Nursing Research HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has appointed four new members to the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research (NACNR), the principal advisory board for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Members of the council are drawn from the scientific and lay communities, embodying a diverse perspective from the fields of nursing, public and health policy, […]...
  2. Five New Members Named to NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health The National Institutes of Health Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health announces the appointment of five new members: Francisco Garcia, M.D., M.P.H., Ronda S. Henry-Tillman, M.D., F.A.C.S., Karen E. Kim, M.D., Claire Pomeroy, M.D., and Paul F. Terranova, Ph.D....
  3. New robot system to test 10,000 chemicals for toxicity Several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, today unveiled a new high-speed robot screening system that will test 10,000 different chemicals for potential toxicity. The system marks the beginning of a new phase of an ongoing collaboration, referred to as Tox21, that is working to protect human health by improving how chemicals are […]...
  4. NIAID Announces New Award to Study the Effects of Radiation and Aging on the Human Immune System NIAID Announces New Award to Study the Effects of Radiation and Aging on the Human Immune System ...
  5. Federal disability system seek to support people with disabilities and help them become more independent. Both welfare agencies and the federal disability system seek to support people with disabilities and help them become more independent. ...
  6. Medicare Information Psychopathic Traits Linked to Brain Reward System People who scored high on a test that measures impulsive and antisocial traits had exaggerated brain responses to certain “rewards,” like winning money or taking stimulant drugs. The new study provides evidence that a dysfunctional brain reward system may underlie vulnerability to a personality disorder known as psychopathy. ...
  7. Medicare Coverage Database (MCD) contains all National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) The Medicare Coverage Database (MCD) contains all National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) and Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), local policy articles, and proposed NCD decisions...
  8. Blueprint empowers drug development for nervous system disorders The National Institutes of Health has made awards to investigators across the United States for an ambitious set of projects seeking to develop new drugs for disorders of the nervous system....
  9. National Institutes of Health on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day February 7, 2010 African-Americans continue to bear the largest and most disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. While black men and women made up 13 percent of the U.S. population in 2007...
  10. National Consumer Protection Week Take advantage of FREE government resources to help you manage your money, protect your privacy, avoid identity theft, and more....
  11. National Arts and Humanities Month I feel blessed to have lived in the Washington, DC area for many years with easy access to some of the best museums, memorials and monuments, art galleries, theaters and concert halls. When I travel to DC today, I still take the opportunity to visit some of these places because the art and history they […]...
  12. SSA needs information about work that exists throughout the nation SSA needs information about work that exists throughout the nation to determine whether claimants’ impairments prevent them from doing not only their past work, but any other work in the U.S. economy....
  13. Medicare Card: National Eye Institute Hosts Translational Research and Vision Symposium The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is bringing together premier researchers who translate molecular and genetic approaches from the laboratory to visual system diseases in the clinic....
  14. MedicareCard.com Finds Statement from Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, during Healthy Vision Month, May 2010 During the eighth annual Healthy Vision Month observance this May, the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, encourages community organizations and the American people to make vision health a priority. This year's theme, "Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Health," highlights the importance of scheduling an eye exam to maintain good quality eye health and preserve the sense of sight....
  15. Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and Jack Whitescarver, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health, on the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS On June 5, 1981, an article concerning five previously healthy, young gay men in Los Angeles diagnosed with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, an infection that usually appears only in individuals with substantial immune system damage, appeared in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....