• Austin Schools GPS Track Students to Reduce Absenteeism
• Source: AP/Houston Chronicle   |   Austin, Texas   |   January 7, 2013
• An Austin school district's new truancy program uses GPS trackers to help prompt students to go to class more often.
• 1 Comments

• Pinterest Helps Police Catch Criminals
• BY: Government Technology   |   Nation   |   January 3, 2013
• The widely used, visually-oriented platform is helping social media-savvy law enforcement agencies drive up arrest rates.
• 1 Comments

• Expert: Fracking Can Happen Safely in New York
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   January 3, 2013
• As the governor weighs whether to approve fracking, the state found in an analysis that the much-debated drilling technology could be conducted safely, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times from an expert who did not believe it should be kept secret.
• 2 Comments

• Georgia's Startup Investment from Pensions Falling Short of Expectations
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   January 2, 2013
• Six months after Georgia enacted a law meant to attract more startups by allowing the state’s pension plans to invest in them, few plans have actually taken advantage, according to an Atlanta Journal Constitution report.
• 1 Comments

• Is Universal Phone Service a Sleeper Issue to Watch in 2013?
• BY: Paul W. Taylor   |   January 2013
• There are conflicting pressures on the universal service fee to maintain “plain old telephone service” on one hand and help pay for a broadband future on the other.

• How Acting Like a Tech Entrepreneur Can Improve Government Services
• BY: Steve Towns   |   January 2013
• Letting the public test unfinished products saves agencies money and time.

• States Show Large Increases in Use of Electronic Health Records
• Source: CivSource   |   Nation   |   December 28, 2012
• The percent of physicians e-prescribing using an EHR has increased in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia, according to a new brief released by the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

• HHS Increases Safety of Electronic Health Records
• Source: NextGov   |   Nation   |   December 27, 2012
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a road map for making electronic health records and other health IT safer for patients.

• Washington State Moves to Charge Electric-Car Owners Yearly Fee
• Source: AP/The Seattles Times   |   Washington   |   December 26, 2012
• Owners of electric cars in Washington state don't buy gasoline or pay gas taxes, but they're soon going to be hit with a $100 fee to own the battery-operated cars.

• Libraries Readying for Flood of E-Readers After Christmas
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   December 20, 2012
• Strained by budget cuts, libraries are preparing to handle more questions and more customers after the gift-giving season.
• 1 Comments

• Utah Health Exchange to Test Affordable Care Act's Flexibility
• Source: Politico   |   Utah   |   December 20, 2012
• Utah says it doesn’t want to do much to alter its existing exchange, which it started for small businesses before President Barack Obama’s health care law was enacted in 2010. Gov. Gary Herbert’s administration says it’s ready to add individual coverage, but not much else.

• Kansas City, Google and the Leveraging of Public Value
• BY: Stephen Goldsmith   |   December 19, 2012
• To Mayor Sly James, the first-in-the-nation Google Fiber project is about a lot more than blazing-fast broadband.
• 4 Comments

• California Proposes New Fracking Regulations
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   December 19, 2012
• Under pressure from state lawmakers and environmentalists, Gov. Jerry Brown's administration released draft regulations for hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the controversial drilling process driving the nation's oil and gas boom.

• IT Directors Go Retro in Virginia
• BY: Brian Heaton   |   December 18, 2012
• Technology workers in two Virginia agencies are using an old-school organizational method to improve workflow and efficiency.

• Cities Pushing to Record Conversations on Public Buses
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   Nation   |   December 13, 2012
• Despite privacy concerns, a growing number of public transit agencies are adding audio surveillance to buses.
• 2 Comments