By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The 1970 Western "Monte Walsh" comes to mind with President Obama's nomination of Sally Jewell, president and chief executive officer of Recreational Equipment Inc., to replace Kenneth L. Salazar as secretary of the interior. The difference between Ms. Jewell and the movie's titular character is that Walsh stands true to his background, while Mr. Obama's nominee seems content to run roughshod over hers.
President Obama's pick to lead the Interior Department had kind words for coal Thursday but dodged the politically sticky issue of whether she backs a carbon tax — a measure that critics fear would drive the domestic coal industry into the ground.
Thousands of D.C.-area residents grabbed shovels, paint brushes and shipping boxes as part of the National Day of Service on Saturday to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in advance of Monday's national holiday for King and inaugural celebration.
Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar's resignation doesn't just leave another open spot in President Obama's Cabinet. The departure of the former senator from Colorado could have far-reaching effects on the administration's energy and environmental policies in a second term — particularly oil and gas drilling on federal lands.
The Department of the Interior announced Tuesday it will remove a controversial "drum major" quote on the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial that paraphrased the late civil rights leader's words, scrapping its initial plan to replace it with the full quote.
Thousands of holiday revelers bundled against a brisk Thursday evening joined President Obama in welcoming the start to the D.C. Christmas season with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.
A historic Northern California oyster farm along Point Reyes National Seashore will be shut down and the site converted to a wilderness area, U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar announced Thursday.
The White House contends that all energy loan guarantees are awarded solely on the merits of the project, with no political influence from President Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden or other administration officials. But a series of emails from solar power giant BrightSource Energy Inc. show how the company applied political pressure and used behind-the-scenes cajoling to win a $1.6 billion loan guarantee in April 2011.
Never underestimate the entrenched West Coast support for a Democratic White House.
Martin Luther King Jr. didn't say it exactly that way, but an inaccurate quote remains etched into his granite memorial in Washington more than six months after National Park Service officials vowed to fix it.
A conservation group said Tuesday it has bought a 150,000-acre Montana ranch in a major step toward its vision of a national park-caliber prairie wildlife preserve that has stoked fears of change in the heart of cattle country.
The politics of renewable energy is heading the agenda in battleground Nevada, where Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hosting a fifth annual green-energy conference at a Las Vegas Strip resort.
The politics of renewable energy is on the agenda Tuesday in battleground Nevada, where Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hosting a fifth annual green-energy conference at a Las Vegas Strip resort.
While the Obama administration was taking a victory lap last week after the 5-4 Supreme Court decision to uphold the president's signature legislative accomplishment, Obamacare, the Interior Department was using the media black hole to release a much-awaited five-year plan for offshore drilling.
The Obama administration backtracked Wednesday and announced it will not declare the dunes sagebrush lizard an endangered species, saying voluntary efforts by New Mexico and Texas have headed off the need for the federal government to step in.
"Today, the largest solar energy projects in the world are under construction on America's public lands in the West," Mr. Salazar said in a statement Wednesday. "I am proud of the renewable energy revolution that we have launched."
"We have undertaken the most aggressive oil and gas safety and reform agenda in U.S. history, raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology," he said.
