President George W. Bush has appointed C.W. (Bill) Ruth to serve as United States Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission. Ruth, a 25-year-veteran of the agency who retired in 1998, was sworn in and assumed his duties on Nov. 24. The post had been left vacant with the death of the previous commissioner and his Mexican counterpart in a plane crash two months ago. International Boundary and Water Commission deals transboundary issues along the U.S.-Mexico border that include flood control, sanitation, boundary demarcation and mapping. It traces its history back to 1889 although its current incarnation was established

Amtrak has named the head of the Federal Railroad Administration, Joseph H. Boardman, to be the company's president and CEO, on a one-year appointment. The passenger railroad said that Boardman, who had been FRA Administrator since 2005, began his new job on Nov. 26. Board Chairman Donna McLean said the company will undertake a search for a permanent CEO. Boardman could be a candidate for the permanent CEO post, says Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black. At FRA, Boardman was the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's designee on Amtrak's board. Before coming to the rail agency, he was commissioner of the New York