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It’s looking increasingly likely that the government will shutdown — at least for a period of time.

Today, the Office of Management and Budget posted a memo: Planning for Agency Operations During A Lapse in Government Funding. [PDF]

It says that feds will have four hours to do what they need to do before the government fully closes.

Read the full memo below:

The other is a fascinating report out earlier this week from the Congressional Research Service: Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects [PDF]

Among the impact of a shutdown, according to CRS:

* Health. New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance; hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered; and toxic waste clean-up work at 609 sites reportedly stopped and resulted in 2,400 Superfund workers being sent home.

• Law Enforcement and Public Safety. Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended; cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal lawenforcement officials reportedly occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents; and delinquent child-support cases were delayed.

• Parks, Museums, and Monuments. Closure of 368 National Park Service sites (loss of 7 million visitors) reportedly occurred, with loss of tourism revenues to local communities; and closure of national museums and monuments (reportedly with an estimated loss of 2 million visitors) occurred.

• Visas and Passports. Approximately 20,000-30,000 applications by foreigners for visas reportedly went unprocessed each day; 200,000 U.S. applications for passports reportedly went unprocessed; and U.S. tourist industries and airlines reportedly sustained millions of dollars in losses.

• American Veterans. Multiple services were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel.

• Federal Contractors. Of $18 billion in Washington, DC, area contracts, $3.7 billion (over 20%) reportedly were affected adversely by the funding lapse; the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was unable to issue a new standard for lights and lamps that was scheduled to be effective January 1, 1996, possibly resulting in delayed product delivery and lost sales; and employees of federal contractors reportedly were furloughed without pay.

Another CRS report: Government Shutdown: Operations of the Department of Defense During a Lapse in Appropriations. [PDF]

Interesting reads as we face Friday’s deadline.

[HT to the Federation of American Scientists, which regularly makes CRS reports public.]

One of the best events of the year is hosted by AFCEA’s Bethesda, MD chapter — it is the annual gala for The Children’s Inn at NIH, a simply remarkable place where sick children undergoing research at the National Institutes of Health can find a respite at a “place like home.”

The Children's Inn at NIH

AFCEA Bethesda has been a long-time supporter of The Children’s Inn at NIH. And the AFCEA Bethesda team managed to break yet another record for the 13th year of the gala, collecting more than $675,000 — at least as of initial estimates. The tallying was still going on, but… No small feat given the current environment.

I have been to the event for many of the past 13 years — and blogging about it in recent years… 2008… 2009… 2010… For 2011, I was honored to be asked to be a part of the presenting team — they asked me to help goose the silent auctions. (By ‘goosing,’ I can only assume they mean ‘come home with as many items as possible!” On that account — mission accomplished!)

A special thanks to Teresa Bozzelli of Sapient Government Services, who invited me to participate.

Hear Bozzelli and Linda Berdine, the chairwoman of The Children’s Inn at NIH Board, talk about it on The DorobekINSIDER.

AFCEA Bethesda has been a long-time supporter of the Children’s Inn at NIH. For those of you who don’t know about it, the Children’s Inn is similar to the Ronald MacDonald houses — they are a place where families can stay near the hospital and have as normal of a life as is possible. The big difference: The Children’s Inn provides that home to those families at no cost. Remarkable. (And yes — you can contribute… $139 buys a night for a family at the Children’s Inn.)

Donna Appell

See a slide show of photos from the event.

See more photos after the break.

One of the most amazing parts of the Children’s Inn Gala is that the audience gets to hear from the children themselves. This year, we got to meet Ashley Appell, 24, and her boyfriend Mervin Hernandez, 24 — who actually performed at the event… she sang and he played the saxophone. Both suffer from Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, a genetic metabolic disorder which causes albinism, visual impairment, and a platelet dysfunction with prolonged bleeding. Ashley’s mother, Donna, told the audience that they started singing and playing the sax as part of their therapy — to help with their lung capacity. And there therapy has turned into a joy and passion.

Ashley Appell, 24, and Mervin Hernandez, 24

And it was thrilling that Ashley’s mother got to speak because I cannot imagine the torture of watching a child in pain. But the remarkable thing is the Children’s Inn also becomes a place for real information sharing. Donna told me that the Children’s Inn, in addition to providing a home, has also provided her with a network of people who have been there and done it.

Some photos from the event…

The DorobekINSIDER gooses the silent auction (Photo: GTSI's Leslie Barry http://on.fb.me/fRQme5

AFCEA Bethesda raises more than $676,000 for The Children's Inn at NIH

Bozzelli and Berdine at the AFCEA Bethesda Children's Inn Gala

In the first week of the new year, we looking back – and look forward… by looking at what you determined were the big stories.

All week, I’m highlighting the most read items across Federal News Radio’s programs. Yesterday, I posted the 100 most read items on the DorobekINSIDER. Tomorrow, we’ll post the most read items for the Federal Drive; Thursday for  FederalNewsRadio.com; and Friday for In Depth.

Today, the most read posts by Federal News Radio’s senior correspondent Mike Causey:

Happy New Year! What a great time to look back – and look forward… and to think about fresh starts.

The coming months are going to be interesting, no doubt.

All week, I’ll bring the most read items across Federal News Radio’s programs – Mike Causey tomorrow; the Federal Drive on Wednesday; FederalNewsRadio.com on Thursday; and In Depth on Friday.

But today, the 100 most read items on the DorobekINSIDER:

Just before the end of the year, a significant reorganization coming to GSA’s acquisition leadership.

Ed O’Hare, Assistant Commissioner for the Integrated Technology Services (ITS) portfolio, who took the post in March 2009, will retire effective January 15, 2011, according to a memo by Steve Kempf , the commission of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service sent to employees today. Mary Davie, presently the Assistant Commissioner of FAS’ Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS), will serve as the ITS portfolio’s next leader effective January 16, 2011.  ITS oversees some of the government’s biggest and most important contracts including the GSA schedule contracts, GSA’s governmentwide telecommunications contracts such as Networx , and GSA’s governmentwide acquisition vehicles , including the just announced Alliant.

Joe Jeu, Assistant Commissioner for FAS’ General Supplies and Services (GSS) portfolio, has accepted an opportunity to continue his career at another federal agency, effective January 2, 2011.

Kempf stressed that the Federal Acquisition Services has a deep bench of executives with extensive experience. Therefore, as part of those changes:

* As I mentioned, Mary Davie, presently the Assistant Commissioner of FAS’ Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS), will serve as the ITS portfolio’s next leader effective January 16, 2011.
* Bill Sisk, presently the FAS Southeast Sunbelt Region Commissioner, has agreed to act as the GSS Assistant Commissioner effective January 2, 2011.
* Michael Gelber, presently the FAS Northwest Arctic Region Commissioner, will become the new FAS Pacific Rim Commissioner effective January 16, 2011.

The following people will act in these positions during the upcoming transition period:

* Tim Fleming, presently AAS’ Deputy Assistant Commissioner, will be the Acting Assistant Commissioner for AAS.
* Kelley Holcombe, FAS Deputy Regional Commissioner, will serve as the Acting FAS Southeast Sunbelt Region Commissioner.
* James Hamilton, the Northwest Arctic Region’s Director for Customer Accounts and Research, will serve as the Acting FAS Commissioner in Region 10.

A number of new — and returning — people to the government IT press.

Government Executive’s tech site, NextGov, has a new editor: Katherine McIntire Peters.

The DorobekINSIDER told you last month that Allan Holmes, who helped create NextGov, was leaving to join Bloomberg’s BGov. That led to a search for a replacement.

Government Executive editor in chief Tom Shoop today announced that GovExec veteran Katherine McIntire Peters will be taking that post. NextGov is also adding Charlie Clark as a senior correspondent. Clark has been everywhere from National Journal to the Post to CQ. He’ll work across Government Executive and Nextgov.

It comes as the 1105 Government Information Group has tapped veterans for some key spots. Earlier this year, David Rapp, who had served as the 1105 Government Information Group editorial director and editor of FCW, also joined Bloomberg’s BGov. And Wyatt Kash, the long time editor of Government Computer News, was shifted to focus on events such as FOSE. 1105 Government Information Group president Anne Armstrong recently named Paul McCloskey as the editor of Government Computer News and John S. Monroe as the editor of Federal Computer Week. McCloskey and Monroe are veterans of the government IT market — and FCW.

Below, you can read Shoop’s note to staff about Peters and Clark…

All:

I’m very pleased to announce that we have a new editor for Nextgov, and even more pleased to report that while we searched far and wide, ultimately we found her right within our walls.

Katherine Peters has agreed to take the reins at Nextgov, effective at the beginning of 2011. As many of you know, Katherine has been with us for 15 years, and is our senior correspondent covering Defense Department management issues and federal agencies’ use and oversight of energy. She has been pinch-hitting as an editor since October, and during that time, under her leadership and that of our other experienced editors, Nextgov has continued to lead the way in breaking major federal IT stories and providing insightful analysis. Just as important, Katherine has immediately gained the respect and admiration of the staff. That’s no surprise, because she has excelled at every challenge we’ve put in front of her for all these years, and is quite simply one of the most talented writers and editors in the business today. Before joining us, she gained experience as an associate editor at Army Times and as a writer and technical editor at both IDC Washington and EDS. We’re fortunate she’s eager to take on this new challenge, and I have every confidence she’ll take Nextgov to new heights.

Luckily, we won’t have to wait to find a replacement for Katherine as senior correspondent. That position will be filled by Charlie Clark, who has been working with us on a temporary basis for the past couple of months. Charlie brings a wealth of experience to the job, having previously worked as a managing editor at National Journal, an editorial writer and copy editor at the Washington Post, a staff writer at Congressional Quarterly, and editor of Tax Notes Today at Tax Analysts. He’ll be doing a mix of editing and writing across a variety of subjects.

As Katherine and Charlie get settled in their new roles, we’ll continue to look for another talented journalist to fill the staff correspondent slot we still have open.

Please join me in congratulating Katherine and welcoming Charlie to the team.

Tom

In one of the biggest moves in government IT in years, Teresa Carlson, who has led Microsoft Federal for the past several years, is leaving the software giant to lead Amazon.com’s burgeoning cloud computing business.

Amazon officials were not available to confirm, but Carlson has told told friends that she will start on Dec. 13. Microsoft officials said that no replacement has been named.

Carlson is one of the preeminent leaders in the business of government community. She has been at Microsoft since 2002, and for the past several years, she has served as the vice president of Microsoft Federal.

The move is a tectonic shift for the cloud computing environment — and for Amazon.com. Amazon has already been a significant player in government — Recovery.gov runs on the Amazon cloud platform. But Amazon has largely lacked a “face” to the market.

But it also is a significant development for the cloud computing environment, scoring one of the most respected government IT executives for the relatively new computing platform.

And… the move leaves Microsoft Federal with a big shoes to fill.

Carlson’s biography as posted on the Microsoft Web site:

Teresa Carlson
Vice President US Federal Government
Microsoft Corporation

Teresa Carlson is the Vice President at Microsoft Corporation responsible for US Federal Government. In this role, she defines the strategy and oversees the execution of sales, contracting, pre-sales technical support, product marketing, customer satisfaction, and performance of the US Federal Government business worldwide.

Teresa joined Microsoft in 2002 as part of the US Federal Group to start up and manage the new Business Productivity unit. In this role, she led a team focused on delivering customer business value through a portfolio of business scenarios. Promoted from there to lead the US Federal Solutions Unit, she created a comprehensive solutions framework that was introduced into the US Federal marketplace. Teresa was also responsible for the US Federal partner channel that consists of more than 2500 Microsoft partners. In July 2005 she became the US Director of Strategy and Operations for Microsoft Federal where she developed new concepts, methods, and strategies for working in the US Federal market. And in 2006 she became the General Manager of the US Federal Civilian Agencies and International Global Organizations (IGO’s) business unit, managing a $600M+ business unit.

Prior to joining Microsoft Teresa was the World Wide Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Lexign Incorporated, formerly Keyfile Corporation, a software company focused on secure, end-to-end business transactions using XML and other technologies. Upon acquisition of three separate companies by Lexign, Teresa was responsible for the overall strategy of the integration and world-wide launch of the newly merged company.
Before moving into the information technology arena, Teresa spent 15 years in the health care field, as a practitioner and consultant initially, then as a business manager and area vice-president, responsible for national accounts, marketing, and business development. During this time, she led customers through numerous transformations, including Joint Commission certifications and significant payment system changes.

Teresa is a native of Kentucky, and currently loves living in Maryland with her husband, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and her youngest son. Her oldest son is now also at West Point. The three men in her life help make it exciting and keep her priorities straight. She has an undergraduate and Masters of Science degree in Communications and Speech and Language Pathology from Western Kentucky University. She holds a variety of certificates and is an advocate for children.

Teresa has received many awards for her industry and civic contributions to the Washington D.C. Community. These include the Federal Computer Week’s Fed 100 Award, and The Bisnow on Business’ Federal IT Power 50 for 2009. Her deep commitment to bettering her community and her passion for her Federal customers has led her to numerous leadership engagements including service on the Boards of: AFCEA Bethesda Chapter, AFFIRM, American Red Cross Capital Chapter, TIE-DC and NPower.

Yes, I am hoping to keep my day job!

This is just one of the photos that my brother-in-law took at Chic2Geek, a fashion show sponsored by Microsoft.

More photos, video and (we hope) a vote for the ‘best’ model to come.

The DorobekINSIDER at @Geek2Chic (photo: Jeff Roche)

Reaction after walking the runway:

I love fun ideas — and this sure struck me as a fun idea. It’s called Geek2Chic — and this great idea comes from Microsoft’s Mark Drapeau. The concept: Take “geeks” — somehow I made the cut — and turn them chic.

As Drapeau explained on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s DorobekINSIDER last week, Geek2Chic is essentially a fashion show. They will have a model for the closes, and then us “geeks” will explain what we do.

And it benefits The Heart of America Foundation, a national nonprofit headquartered in DC that combines volunteerism and literacy, and focuses on providing children in need with the tools to read, succeed and make a difference.

More details below… and at geek2chic.doattend.com… and on Twitter @geek2chic.

high tech goes haute: geek2chicfashion show
October 13, 2010 @ Bloomingdale’s – 5300 Western Avenue Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Join Microsoft and Bloomingdale’s for geek2chic, an intimate fashion show featuring the capital region’s top techies, as they trade in their cubicles for the catwalk – all for a good cause!
Everyone is invited to attend. This unique fashion show will showcase male models who’ve made great strides in the technological world.

Make a Difference
Ticket proceeds will benefit The Heart of America Foundation, a national nonprofit headquartered in DC that combines volunteerism and literacy, and focuses on providing children in need with the tools to read, succeed and make a difference.
In addition, 10% of all purchases at The Men’s Store will benefit The Heart of America Foundation.

VIP Tix

VIP tickets include catwalk seating, open bar, The Men’s Store discount (Chevy Chase location), and a VIP gift from The Heart of America Foundation.