News In Brief

coming full-circle

true story: the year was 1965, and Bob Eamigh paid $50 for an Altoona, Pa., Senior High class ring inscribed with his initials, "RRE." That fall, he went on to study at the nearby Pennsylvania State University, and then, eventually, to Vietnam for a tour of duty in the war. Somewhere along the way - to his lasting regret - he lost the ring. Now, fast-forward to last week, when Eamigh's ring arrived at his adopted home near Pittsburgh via shipment from Hawaii. A diver, snorkeling with a metal detector had found it encrusted in coral off the island of Kauai and somehow tracked him down. Hard to believe? Yes, and even more so when you consider that Eamigh has never been to the Aloha State.

US agencies get report card on how efficiently they're run

A survey by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University has analyzed and ranked 15 federal agencies on how efficient they are. In the study, made possible by a $2.5 million grant from Pew Charitable Trusts, the only agency to receive an "A" grade is Social Security, cited for speedy data processing of 860 million payments a year. The 15 agencies that were rated and their grades:

Social Security Administration A

Food and Nutrition Service B

Food and Drug Administration B

Federal Emergency Management Agency B

Food Safety and Inspection Service B

Veterans Health Administration B

Occupational Safety and Health Administration B-minus

Patent and Trademark Office B-minus

Environmental Protection Agency B-minus

Federal Housing Administration B-minus

Internal Revenue Service C

Customs Service C

Health Care Financing Administration C

Federal Aviation Administration C

Immigration and Naturalization Service C-minus

- Associated Press