This Week's Facts:
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Today is Final Day to Celebrate
Air Quality Awareness Week
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Online Resources
Clear the Air About Swine Flu
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More Job Opportunities Sought for
People with Disabilities
IRS Warns Taxpayers to be Wary of Return Scams
 Please be aware of
persons via email or phone claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. This could be a tax scam. As the IRS says, “Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Some recent scams claim that your U.S. refund was not enough and that the IRS owes you more money. For examples of other tax scams, visit the IRS
Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts webpage, and see especially Identity and Financial
Theft Tax Scams.
For more tips on avoiding these, visit the IRS webpage,
Tax Scams – How to Recognize and Avoid Them. You can also report suspected
tax fraud activity by sending IRS form
3949-A, Information Referral, to the Internal Revenue Service. Report
Identity and Financial Theft Tax Fraud to the
Treasury General for Tax Administration or 1-800-366-4484.
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Friday Facts is a production of the Indiana State Library
Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data Center Coordinator
Elisabeth O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State Documents Coordinator
Join the
FDLP-IN
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to get the latest government info |
 Although
this is the last day, it is not too late to celebrate Air
Quality Awareness Week. Running from April 27 to May 1, the Week
is designed to promote behavior that encourages clean air. The
Environmental Protection Agency
has a great site that focuses on a new topic each day of the
week. Previous days are also available for viewing. Topics
include causes of air pollution, the dangers of air pollution
and what you can do to help alleviate it.
Indiana is doing its part as well. The Indiana Department of
Environmental Management has launched
SmogWatch,
a site that provides visitors with daily ground-level ozone
forecasts and health information. They also have a site
dedicated to
Continuous Air Quality Monitoring.
Their
news release
provides tips on how to personally reduce ozone levels,
including carpooling, turning off appliances when not using them
and turning off the air conditioning.
For an interactive map that shows air quality levels throughout
the country, be sure to check out the
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.
Online Resources
Clear the
Air About Swine Flu
 There
have been a lot of questions about the Swine Flu lately: How is
it spread? Where does it come from? Swine Flu is caused by
influenza viruses that normally infect pigs. The virus causing
the current influenza outbreak is not a swine flu virus, but a
combination of human, swine and bird viruses. The flu virus
causing the current outbreak, now called Influenza A
(H1N1)/North America/Human, has adapted itself to be transmitted
from person-to-person. Swine in the United States have not been
and are not infected with this virus. Symptoms are similar to
normal influenza symptoms: cough, fever, sore throat, and muscle
aches. Others have reported runny noses, diarrhea, and vomiting.
If you have these symptoms, the CDC recommends that you contact
your health care provider. The CDC provides a good set of
guidelines for preventing the spread of flu
– or any other illness. Health care experts suggest that you
stay home if you are sick, wash your hands frequently, and cover
your nose and mouth when you cough and/or sneeze.
Health officials have warned that this is not an epidemic. Swine
flu is not transmitting all that rapidly. It is not even new –
the CDC reports that it has been receiving reports every year
from 1976 to 2005 about Swine Flu occurrences in the United
States. It is important for the public to have access to this
information from reliable resources; however, health officials
warn that we should not panic.
There are a number of state and federal resources that provide
information on Swine Flu. They include the
Indiana State Department of Health,
the
Indiana Department of Homeland Security,
the
Centers for Disease Control
and the
World Health Organization.
For information related specifically to Indiana, see the
State Department of Health Press Release.
More Job Opportunities Sought for People with Disabilities
 According
to a March
press release,
the National Council on Disability (NCD) is recommending the
creation of more federal job opportunities for people with
disabilities. While the NCD acknowledges that strides have been
made with laws, regulations and policies, there are still many
barriers preventing the hiring of those with disabilities. The
ten recommendations are aimed at the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), Congress and even individuals. The NCD claims
that existing laws need to be better; however, people with
disabilities need to take advantage of current opportunities
from the Federal Government. The paper,
Federal Employment of People with
Disabilities,
is available for viewing. People with disabilities interested in
federal employment can check out the
OPM
website
on the topic. It has information on laws related to employment
as well as tips and advice on how to obtain a position. |
