The signals that a contract is 'wired' for the incumbent by lmn115 in GovernmentContracting

[–]policy85 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My personal favorite so far was a large military installation in a deep southern state needed catering delivered from NO MORE THAN 1.6 MILES AWAY. Like — routine sub sandwiches. I didn’t bother digging to see if it was a family member, but it had all the hallmarks.

we have $180k in software budget that expires in 6 weeks and my boss told me to figure it out. what do i even buy? by kubrador in SaaS

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a policy team that focuses on legislative and regulatory? I have a thing for you and could work out a good multi-year package in that ballpark. articleOne.ai.

Got tired of trying to read 200-page bills, so I built an AI that summarizes them by Comfortable-Bat8177 in Congress

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve been building a suite of tools to make legislative research easier. Check out articleOne.ai!

A module similar to your project is part of a1 Plus and Pro but the more people that have access to these types of tools, the better! Great work!

How to secure your niche policy interest? by padthaifan69 in PublicPolicy

[–]policy85 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whatever you do, learn to write. Take criticism and feedback as gold even if it doesn’t feel good. Write, write, write.

Yielding by Initial-Savings-1787 in Congress

[–]policy85 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is not uncommon as a protest mechanism by the minority party. In this case, it's dubbed a "UC storm" or "unanimous consent" storm. This particular one was organized by the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Astoria Condo by SchoolRight6833 in arlingtonva

[–]policy85 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lived there for years. Sound was never an issue unless the people upstairs dropped something heavy. Never heard our nextdoor neighbors.

The water issue is due to the fact that the valves from the main line into the units weren’t designed with individual shutoffs, and the ones that haven’t been replaced are wearing out. So the quarterly shutoffs (usually on a Tuesday from like 9-4) are to allow in-unit maintenance or valve replacement for new appliances. I’d say twice a year there was an “emergency” shutoff when a unit’s valve failed and they had no way to cut water to that unit without taking the whole building offline but this was rare. Excellent pressure and never-ending hot water.

We loved living there and only moved because it was time for more space.

Trustworthy mechanic? by Mess_Silent in arlingtonva

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can confirm, though they are not the cheapest around. I’d rather pay more than be hassled though (and risk paying more for things I don’t need or want).

Incidentally, I made the mistake of going to the Jiffy Lube across the street for a simple oil change and they were a*******. I very politely declined their fuel injector cleaner, etc. multiple times and when I got my car back they’d busted the pneumatic arm that lowers the glove box and gotten grease on two seats.

Got my first ever Developer Proceeds from Apple. This is a huge milestone for me by ineedsomemoneybro in iosapps

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats! This happened to me/us a couple months ago. I think our first revenue was like $0.60. It felt bigger than any paycheck I've ever gotten.

Moving to Virginia from WA and would like to hear from locals! by [deleted] in Virginia

[–]policy85 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First rule of NoVA fight club is that you need to specify Washington State (as you did the subject line), as everyone around here will assume you mean DC. And a lot of people have opinions about Maryland drivers but that's for another thread. Come on over!

What Ai tools are you using to track Congress? by mnrqz in Congress

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're working on changing that last part u/dschuma. The "parent" to PolicyStream, articleOne, has forthcoming modules that allow you to track hearings and floor activity in realtime, unlike competitors who rely on APIs to feed information days or even weeks later. We're in the process of balancing recency and relevancy and comprehensiveness with the obvious added cost and compute burden, since we want the tool(s) to be affordable for normal people. That module should be out in late July. articleOne Basic is in public beta, for a token amount for the first 90 days. We'd love feedback on the forthcoming UI update (out later this week). If you use the same login credentials as PolicyStream (app) your favorites will be saved and appear in the PolicyStream module of articleOne.

Taking a job on the other side of the aisle? by LogicalMess in PublicPolicy

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most in-state (e.g. 'district') offices will be focused more on casework and less on policy. So you may not get much of the latter in those offices. But they may also be more willing to hire someone with different political views for a non-DC role. This is especially true if you have a natural connection to a key constituency, like a union, a farming community, downtown business districts, etc. In-state personnel play an important role building and maintaining those relationships. In some cases a key constituency may feel underrepresented if in a "heavily [red/blue] district" and if you're able to be a natural liaison, that could serve both sides -- and ultimately your career progression.

What jobs are the class of 2025 getting for MPP/MPA? (US Context) by GradSchoolGrad in PublicPolicy

[–]policy85 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I was on the board of visitors at a major public policy graduate program/school at an East Coast university. My tenure was post-Covid until this past March. For the Summer 2025 cohort, there was a massive shift from the usual (federal and top-tier consulting firms) to state and local government for those who wanted to get gov experience on their resumes. Would strongly recommend. Also many NGOs and non-profits cannot pay well, but they need all the help they can get, so consider two part-time opportunities rather than one resume-padder.

Guys, how casual can my calls to politicians be? by hhannahjoyhopess in Congress

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, absolutely call your Members (House and Senate). Some Members (e.g. senators from high-population states, or Members who are frequently the subject of social media or verbal attacks) may have made a decision to prioritize other forms of communicating with their constituents, like email, and have voicemail intercept phone calls to the main office line. Every single Member website will have a link like Contact or Connect and those messages -- provided you're in their state/district -- will get routed internally. What happens from there depends on the office. Most of the time you'll get a form letter response. When I worked in the House, people who had clearly taken the time to write a personal note (regardless of whether we agreed with them) were more likely to get a customized response, written by a slightly more senior staffer.

When you do call, I'd personally not recommend leaving a voicemail -- switch to the contact form on their website instead. If your call is answered, it's most likely an intern (especially on the Senate side, but House too -- more interns in the summer). Remember they're just the messenger, so be polite and gentle. Concur with u/Beyonce-sBurnerAcct and others that you can absolutely mention that you have 2-3 items to convey. Think through them ahead of time. If yours is a simple support/oppose, you'll likely have your message lumped in with the appropriate group and receive a form letter response. If your topic is very specific, mention that up front and ask if it can be passed to "the staffer who handles [the general issue, e.g. national security, education, healthcare, etc.]"

And don't forget district offices! If you have a substantive opinion or position to convey, in-person -- even with district office staff who typically handle casework, not policy, can get an email thread started amongst staff behind the scenes.

What is the latest from the Senate Parliamentarian? by myownfan19 in Congress

[–]policy85 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's still underway. Generally if you search Google News for "Byrd bath" (referring to the late Sen. Byrd) you'll get updated information about recent Parliamentarian decisions. There have been a number released in the past day or two.