Agency Press Releases

Continued Dryness, Continued Risk

August 30, 2011

Few of us would argue that wildfire is a year round threat in Florida. Heavy coastal winds, low humidity, continuing dry conditions, and frequency of rainfall are a few of the elements that contribute to this risk One tool used by the Florida Forest Service to indicate the dryness of the soil and surface fuels is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index or KBDI. A 0-800 numeric scale is used whereby a value of “0” indicates total water saturation and “800” indicates dry, arid desert-like conditions. Tallahassee’s six county region currently has an average score of 621, making us one of...

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Social Security field offices to begin closing to the public a half hour early

July 25, 2011

Effective August 15, 2011, Social Security field offices nationwide will close to the public 30 minutes early each day. For example, a field office that is usually open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will close daily at 3:30 p.m. “While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow us to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime for our employees,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “Congress provided our agency with nearly $1 billion less than the...

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