ALJ job in Anchorage, Alaska

[okeydokey]

Yes.

I take it that SSA has requested a new certificate from OPM.

What does it mean? I think it means that some of those who were not on the last cert might make this one.

Good luck.

[zarco522]

That's good news. Good luck everyone!

[carjack]

An embarrassment of riches for you Ellie - congrats.

The email was from OPM? I thought they normally specified who they were creating a cert for.

I wonder if they'd notice if someone else responded to the email, "accepting on behalf of Ellie, but in her place"?

[anticipation1]

I wish I had received it. I like Sarah Palin.

[benchsitter]

Anchorage is a wonderful city (and the Coast Guard is an excellent organization), but alas I did not receive an email. Good luck to anyone who did and is interested.

[decadealj]

I would be very surprised if the ALJ position is with the Coast Guard- I think they only have 7 jobs and with the new task of hearing appeals from all the dock workers denied clearances, they are concentrating their limited resources to major ports; if any new position would open or be transferred (Norfolk) it would probably be Miami. Current positions are in New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, New Orleans, Seattle and either Long Beach, San Franciso or some other California location.

[thepenguin]

Too bad I did not get such an offer. The weather sounds just fine to me. Moose hunting would be interesting.

[carjack]

penguin:

apparently you have to be careful now, with the proliferation of the 2nd A, more moose(s) are packing heat. It's definitely more dangerous, but it evens out the playing field, and makes for a real challenge to the sportsunits out there.

I don't, however, know of any wolves flying choppers to hunt with, but that's probably next. Or maybe polar bears on snowmobiles?

[gator]

I too recieved the e-mail.

[woops]

Gator:
Please check your private message in-box

[lurker]

Jun 9, 2009 14:54:16 GMT -5 decadealj said:

I would be very surprised if the ALJ position is with the Coast Guard- I think they only have 7 jobs and with the new task of hearing appeals from all the dock workers denied clearances, they are concentrating their limited resources to major ports; if any new position would open or be transferred (Norfolk) it would probably be Miami. Current positions are in New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, New Orleans, Seattle and either Long Beach, San Franciso or some other California location.

Some googling turned up an ALJ position for the Commerce Dept. (NOAA) - hearing cases about beluga whale fishing and such. Hmmm.

[Propmaster]

Also, didn't the new list of ODARs from SSA include Anchorage?

[darious]

I don't think there is a permanent office in Anchorage, and Anchorage was not on the SSA list for the most recent certification. Anchorage is serviced out of Seattle for Region 10.

[Propmaster]

Agreed. But the broadcast said it was being made a sattellite office (like Honolulu) which would mean it would be expanded to have a permanent ALJ, just without a HOD and other administration staff. The e-mail is because it was not on the most recent cert; they need people to have geographical preference to fill it. Perhaps they sent to the top ten to twenty scorer, assuming they would get enough to send three names to SSA. (Or 100 or 200 or whatever).

[Interested]

It's not SSA. I received the same email and declined to go to to Alaska. I asked and OPM confirmed it's not SSA. They would not identify the agency, though.

[okeydokey]

Allright, my theory of a new cert from SSA has no basis.

[Interested]

For grins and giggles, check out the photo of the Federal building in downtown Anchorage -- with the Iditarod running by it. But for the sled race, it would look Stalinesque.

camera.touchngo.com/iditarod99/fedbldg.htm

[knownuthin]

I lived in Anchorage a couple of years. It's a great city when the volcanoes are not spewing ash all over you, or the earth is shaking under your feet, or the wind blows up Cook Inlet at 100 mph, or moose walk down your street or the parking lot of the movie theater, or sleep next to your building. They advised people to wear bells, carry whistles, and pepper spray when walking in the woods. You can also tell what kind of bears are in the area by their droppings. Black bear droppings have a lot of seeds and berries. Grizzly bear droppings have bells and whistles and smells like pepper spray. Just remember, you don't have to out run the bear, just the person you are with. So never go out in the woods alone. When you leave the city limits of Anchorage, you have just entered the food chain and you are no longer at the top.

[jagghagg]

Jun 10, 2009 18:45:50 GMT -5 knownuthin said:

I lived in Anchorage a couple of years. It's a great city when the volcanoes are not spewing ash all over you, or the earth is shaking under your feet, or the wind blows up Cook Inlet at 100 mph, or moose walk down your street or the parking lot of the movie theater, or sleep next to your building. They advised people to wear bells, carry whistles, and pepper spray when walking in the woods. You can also tell what kind of bears are in the area by their droppings. Black bear droppings have a lot of seeds and berries. Grizzly bear droppings have bells and whistles and smells like pepper spray. Just remember, you don't have to out run the bear, just the person you are with. So never go out in the woods alone. When you leave the city limits of Anchorage, you have just entered the food chain and you are no longer at the top.

It's not that bad.... in fact, most of what you list is exactly why people who love it do so. There aren't many places where you can live with all the comforts of a small city and home AND be completely surrounded by pure nature. The winter sky - since it's dark about 22 hours a day in the winter - is blacker than anything most people have ever seen and you can see the stars and constellations spread out across it like perfect diamonds strewn across a jewelers velvet. And you can, from the protection of your deck, listen to a pack of wolves travel and howl their way across the Wasatch front. You dress for the cold and learn to drive in snow and it never stops you. On a clear day, in the right place, you can see all the way from Cook Inlet to Denali (Mt. McKinley). You either love it or you hate it. I loved it. You must have been with the latter group.

Jun 10, 2009 5:02:42 GMT -5 lurker said:

Some googling turned up an ALJ position for the Commerce Dept. (NOAA) - hearing cases about beluga whale fishing and such. Hmmm.

Hey, Lurker - I have searched and searched and cannot find what thou hast found. Could you post a link ?

[flannery]

Jun 11, 2009 4:55:46 GMT -5 @jagghagg said:

Jun 10, 2009 18:45:50 GMT -5 knownuthin said:

.

It's not that bad.... in fact, most of what you list is exactly why people who love it do so. There aren't many places where you can live with all the comforts of a small city and home AND be completely surrounded by pure nature. The winter sky - since it's dark about 22 hours a day in the winter - is blacker than anything most people have ever seen and you can see the stars and constellations spread out across it like perfect diamonds strewn across a jewelers velvet. And you can, from the protection of your deck, listen to a pack of wolves travel and howl their way across the Wasatch front. You dress for the cold and learn to drive in snow and it never stops you. On a clear day, in the right place, you can see all the way from Cook Inlet to Denali (Mt. McKinley). You either love it or you hate it. I loved it. You must have been with the latter group.

Jun 10, 2009 5:02:42 GMT -5 lurker said:

Some googling turned up an ALJ position for the Commerce Dept. (NOAA) - hearing cases about beluga whale fishing and such. Hmmm.

Hey, Lurker - I have searched and searched and cannot find what thou hast found. Could you post a link ?

JH, you need to be a novelist. Although I have never wanted to go to Alaska, the way you describe it is very compelling--even for a rabbit (I guess they have Arctic hares up there?). As for the hiring agency for this cert--could it be for DOI? When I went for my SI with OPM, I met another interviewee who stated she was an administrative judge (not ALJ) with DOI in Alaska.... So maybe it is for DOI? In the meantime, I will wait for one of JH's novels to show up on Amazon.Com--she is good, like a female version of Jack London!