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The Department of Veterans Affairs administrator in charge of reducing the huge backlog of veterans benefits, who was a frequent target of critics, resigned on Friday despite a vast reduction in pending claims. The administrator, Allison A. Hickey, became under secretary for benefits in 2011, overseeing 20,000 employees and benefits for more than 12 million veterans and their families. (Philipps, 10/16)

A top Department of Veterans Affairs official resigned Friday, weeks after the department’s internal watchdog found irregularities in promotions and reimbursements involving nearly two-dozen senior executives in her department. Allison Hickey, who was Under Secretary for Benefits at the VA, weathered the VA wait-time scandals in the summer of 2014 that led to the resignation of other top officials and then-Secretary Eric Shinseki. Ms. Hickey’s resignation was announced by Secretary Robert McDonald in a statement. No reason was given. (Kesling, 10/16)

After months of often rancorous meetings with veterans, Westside residents, health professionals and elected officials, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday released a draft master land-use plan for the agency’s long-neglected West Los Angeles campus. The document satisfies a key requirement of the January settlement of a 2011 lawsuit filed on behalf of chronically homeless veterans. The suit alleged that the VA was illegally leasing land to corporations, schools and other entities while failing to provide adequate care for men and women who had served in the military. (Groves, 10/16)