JPL Intranet

Happy New Year!
Drywall repairs are being done in several parts of the library right now, including the staff breakroom. Please pardon the mess–it’s temporary. 😉

Good Morning,

As I am sure you have all heard, the CDC has changed quarantine/isolation guidance this week.  Also, the US Supreme Court will hear the case for the OSHA vaccine mandate on January 7.   Once that decision has been reached, we may have further information on policies and processes going forward.

The CDC guidance is attached [linked below]

It is important that the masking portion of the guidance is followed.  As a reminder, the current City policy still requires employees to wear masks whenever more than one employee is traveling in a vehicle on City business.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Cyndee

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1POcOFcO_z1UtAVlbwTL5A1L6ldM9I6Ia/view?usp=sharing

Happy New Year Everyone!

My “Christmas card” this year can be found in the staff break room in the shape of baked goods. Enjoy! And may your holidays be happy ones!

The windows PC in the Tech Lab has been replaced and the 8mm film scanner is back up and running.

Due to the proximity to the holiday, we will not be holding our regular, bi-monthly all-staff meeting this month. I apologize for the late notice.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

1 devil’s food cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons water

1 10 oz. package mint or peppermint bark chocolate chips

Mix first four ingredients together.  Add chips.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

Please help yourself to a chocolate mint brownie cookie in the break room when you have a chance today!

Votes are in and the date the majority of staff can attend a get together is on Saturday, January 29. The Brightside Aleworks party room has been reserved. Stay tuned for more details.

If anyone sees the UPS delivery driver, please send him/her back to TS. I have one box ready for UPS pickup. Thanks! Lori F

We now have four Town Center ice skate rental passes available via our Adventure Pass site. The skate rental facility is open Friday-Sunday. Patrons can checkout up to two passes at a time.

We are closing at 4pm today due to the weather forecast.

Just a reminder to review the emergency procedures for straight-line wind/tornado sirens as high winds are in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon and evening.

There are procedure cards at each service desk and the emergency procedures can be found under Documentation/Emergencies/Emergency Manual or here: Emergency Manual 2020

Please ask if you have questions.

Iowa Workforce Development to Launch Reemployment Case Management in January

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Workforce Development will launch its new Reemployment Case Management (RCM) program next month, formally beginning a new chapter in how the agency will approach unemployment moving forward.

Beginning the week of January 9, the new program will offer extensive job search assistance to newly unemployed Iowans with the goal of getting them back to work more quickly. The RCM program has been specifically tailored to Iowa’s unemployment process based on proven national models. Its intention is to provide enhanced services so claimants can more quickly discover the best possible pathway toward a new job and minimize the amount of time spent receiving unemployment benefits.

“Like other states across the country, Iowa is experiencing a significant workforce shortage,” said Governor Kim Reynolds. “We are taking a holistic approach in revitalizing our reemployment process to ensure that Iowans have the access they need to match them with the successful career paths and opportunities that await them across our state.”

Governor Reynolds and IWD Director Beth Townsend announced the Reemployment Case Management (RCM) program in October as part of a series of steps to address Iowa’s urgent need for more workers in the economy. When fully implemented, the RCM program will include 18 new Career Planners who are assigned to meet individually with Iowans seeking reemployment beginning with the first week of their unemployment claims.

The Career Planners will work to directly connect unemployment claimants with training and educational opportunities in high-demand careers. They will be assisted by new technology that’s being added to Iowa’s existing IowaWORKS system, thereby making it easier to match an unemployment claimant’s work history with the skills in demand by Iowa companies with open jobs.

Union members will be excluded from participation in the program, per Iowa law. Most other unemployment claimants will be required to meet with Career Planners weekly (beginning with their first claimed week of unemployment) and attend any necessary training sessions as a condition for receiving their unemployment benefits. Intake into RCM originally will be focused on the newly unemployed. However, people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for 13 weeks or more will be earmarked for immediate participation in the program.

As part of the new program, the requirement that most jobless Iowans engage in two work search or reemployment activities per week to receive unemployment benefits will double to four activities per week. At the same time, IWD is narrowing the list of what qualifies as a “reemployment activity” from 27 items to 12. The change reflects a desire to focus unemployed Iowans’ efforts on those activities that are most likely to help them find new careers.

IWD encourages any unemployed Iowan to respond quickly if Career Planners reach out to gather information as part of the Reemployment Case Management program. Failure to respond to phone calls from Career Planners could delay the process of helping claimants find new work – and ultimately, could lead to unemployment claims being frozen until the proper information is provided.

Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development, emphasizes that this new approach will focus on getting unemployed Iowans back to work.

“Our goal with RCM is to give unemployed workers both extra help and extra incentive to find a new career path as quickly as possible,” Townsend said. “Iowa needs its people working, and we’ll do whatever we can to help get you there.”

For more details, including the new list of allowable reemployment activities, see the accompanying FAQ document.

Holiday Potluck. Thursday, December 16^th at City Hall from 11:30 – 1:00. Bring a dish to share.

Hey we’re planning a staff party in January. Please complete the following Google form in the next 48 hours and give us your input.  https://forms.gle/mscz2rZThHG1UZEw5

Thanks!

I spent some time alphabetizing the picture books this morning.  I worked on L-Q.  I also printed new shelf labels for this section to remove gaps.  So at least for a little while, you should find it a easier to shelve and pick in this section of the picture books.

A brown leather purse and brown hat that appear to belong to Adrienne Burgus were left in the play area in YS tonight, 12/7. Adrienne has a library card so I called a left a voicemail that the items are at the library. I will lock both items up in the gray cabinet.
Thanks,
beth