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News: Technology

July 3, 2009

Technology
Boston
Computer System Speeds Complaint Responses
Boston Globe
Boston residents who report broken sidewalks and burned-out street lights are getting faster action from City Hall, thanks to a new $5 million computer tracking system that has improved response time to citizen complaints, according to city tracking data. Other cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York, implemented similar systems and saw similar results years ago.
From Governing: Tech and Telecom

Technology | Federal
The Nation
New Federal Site Tracks IT Spending
Washington Post
Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer, announced a new Web site designed to track more than $70 billion in government information-technology spending, showing all contracts held by major firms within every federal agency. The site, USAspending.gov, shows detailed information about whether IT contracts are being monitored and budgets being met.
NASCIO Joins Data-Standards Initiative
Federal Computer Week
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers will work with Kundra and other federal officials to develop data standards to make state government information more easily accessible to the public. The project will be modeled after Data.gov, the federal initiative to provide easier access to government data.

July 2, 2009

Technology
The Nation
Stimulus Funds Coming for Rural Broadband
Washington Post
Vice President Joe Biden announced guidelines for $4 billion in stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet access across the nation, jump-starting a program that has been criticized for taking too long to get off the ground. The first round of grants and loans is part of a total $7.2 billion in funds for expanding broadband networks.
From Governing: Tech and Telecom

Technology
Washington, D.C.
Train Safety Device Malfunction Undetected
Washington Post
Five days before last week's accident in which one train rammed another, killing nine and injuring 80, a Metro crew replaced a key piece of equipment designed to prevent crashes, but the circuitry malfunctioned and no one at the transit agency detected the problem, investigators and transit officials said.

Technology
Milwaukee
No-Bid Contract Produced Faulty Police System
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A former Milwaukee police captain was paid more than $600,000 through a no-bid contract to set up a police computer system that repeatedly failed to give commanders the information they needed to track crimes, city officials said. Shortly after he took office, Police Chief Edward Flynn killed the deal and called in private-sector experts who swiftly brought the system into working order.

July 1, 2009

Technology
The Nation
DHS Chief Endorses Real ID Replacement
Federal Computer Week
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has endorsed Senate legislation that would repeal parts of the controversial Real ID Act of 2005, replacing it with legislation known as the Providing for Additional Security in States' Identification Act, or PASS ID, that would eliminate many of Real ID’s information-sharing requirements.
From Governing: Tech and Telecom

Technology
The Philadelphia Region
Transit Agency Joins Google Trip-Planning System
Philadelphia Inquirer
SEPTA has gone Google. Schedules and routes for all Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trains and trolleys will be synchronized with the Web-based trip-planning program Google Transit, officials announced. Philadelphia is now one of more than 400 cities and regions worldwide that feed public-transit data into Google.

June 30, 2009

Technology
The Nation
E-Waste Laws Bring Surge of Recycling
New York Times
Since 2004, 18 states have approved laws that make manufacturers responsible for recycling electronics, and similar statutes were introduced in 13 other states this year. Consumer response has been enormous: In Washington State alone, residents have dumped more than 15 million pounds of electronic waste.
From Governing: Tech and Telecom

Technology
Colorado
Computer Crashes Blocking Jobless Claims
Denver Post
Colorado's computerized system for taking claims from the unemployed has crashed repeatedly in recent days, leaving thousands stuck in telephone hold queues. The state labor department relies on computer systems that are more than 30 years old. A new system that will handle online claims is expected to be operational in about four months, a spokesman said.

Technology | Federal
The Nation
Energy Efficiency Rules for Lighting Toughened
New York Times
President Obama announced tougher energy efficiency requirements for certain types of fluorescent and incandescent lighting, the latest step in its push to cut the country’s energy use. The new rule, to take effect in 2012, will cut the amount of electricity used by affected lamps by 15 to 25 percent, the White House said.