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A Connecticut Tesla hit two motor vehicles on a highway while operating on Autopilot; the driver was attending to his dog in the back seat. This is “damaging to public discussions” about driverless vehicles.
Ohio residents were unhappily surprised when 5G cellphone towers began popping up in their neighborhoods: “You want this stuff; you just don’t want it on your street.” But as phone companies move to 5G, cities might not have a choice.
The economy depends on long-haul trucking but those 18-wheelers produce a large amount of the transit sector’s greenhouse gases. “You can’t just be flapping your gums about ‘zero emissions’ and not have a plan to get there.”
A bill reintroduced to improve access to higher education technology for students with disabilities could create “some exciting opportunities to really open the doors of higher education” and life beyond college.
Washington state’s Public Disclosure Commission is keeping public record of campaign expenses and donations to keep candidates honest. It’s far from perfect, “but that doesn’t mean we won’t whack the moles when we see them.”
A new multidisciplinary group is hoping to start a conversation that can answer questions about new concerns specific to using drones in the nation's most densely populated metropolitan areas.
Several agencies are warning holiday shoppers to be extra careful of phishing scams and shopping moves online. Some advice: Create a separate email, don’t use public Wi-Fi, and treat passwords like underwear.
General Motors is a strong lobbyer for extending the electric vehicle federal tax credit, but the company opposes California’s proposed fuel-emission standards, only complicating the debate.
A new report by the Federal Communications Commission found that mobile phone providers will overestimate their coverage about 40 percent of the time. Verizon and T-Mobile also misrepresented their service speed.
Raleigh finished just behind Austin, Texas, as the best area in the country for IT jobs by evaluating cost of living, number of opportunities, and projected job growth. The tech hub San Francisco ranked fifth
Google’s Project Nightingale moved the company into the health-care field, and many are concerned about privacy. Google is known to mine and sell user data; who’s to say they won’t do that with intimate medical records?
Transportation infrastructure, water and sewer systems, clean energy and data policy are among the recommended focus areas on the just-released 2020 policy agenda of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Ford and McDonald’s are partnering to repurpose coffee bean waste as environmentally friendly car parts. The companies “are committed to minimizing waste and we’re always looking for innovative ways to further our goal.”
Research estimates 76,000 head, neck injuries across 20 years, aligning with the introduction of the smartphone. The injuries ranged from cellphone distraction to the phone being the direct cause, “such as by hitting the person’s face.”
Officials with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission are finalizing a proposal for Virgin’s Hyperloop One to build high-speed transit to other metro areas, a plan that could help create a “mega-region.”
In 2009, the Rust Belt city was hit hard by the recession as car factories closed, leaving the city with a $6 million budget deficit and nearly $100 million in debt. But as 2020 approaches, the picture is very different.
Economists estimate the state loses the money to companies claiming deductions for irregular profits. That’s more than the state is spending this year to preserve environmentally sensitive land.
Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill that bans flavored tobacco products beginning June 1, 2020, but the policy is expected to reduce revenue by $93 million, according to the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research.
In efforts to keep up with the technological times, Gov. Laura Kelly’s advisory council supported millions in new taxes in the digital economy. But others are concerned that Kansas should first focus on restoring fiscal health.
Google workers claim they were fired for speaking out. Google says they were fired over data misuse. More and more, workers are holding their companies accountable “not just in the business side of what they do.”
Two Washington state universities have partnered to take on misinformation and digital counterfeiting hoping to help the public “sort fact from fakery.”
Brightline will test infrared sensors and drones in efforts to prevent suicide by train. Since the beginning of operation, there have been more than one death per month, and “about one for every 29,000 miles the trains have traveled.”
Four regional groups have supported the construction of a $10 billion high-speed magnetic levitation train to Washington, D.C. Officials hope it will offer “opportunity to change the county and Northeast Corridor in a fundamental way.”
Four pilot projects in the Los Angeles region have been awarded $500,000 to grow zero-emission transportation efforts. Part of their focus will be connecting underserved communities to new travel opportunities.
A cord will entangle suspects by wrapping around their arms or legs as a means to detain without force. The Los Angeles Police Department hopes that this will de-escalate situations and “It if can save lives, it’s better.”
Three of Spokane’s city council members voted against the slow-moving, self-driving bus, Olli, on Monday, which halted the pilot program’s progress. Now, the fate of the two shuttles is uncertain.
New York state’s Lockport City School District must make a few policy tweaks before their facial recognition programs will be okayed. The tweaks will “prevent students’ photos from being programmed into the system.”
Telemedicine has been growing in Indiana since 2015, but there are still gaps in the coverage. For many rural patients, “inadequate Internet speeds or unreliable services can be a major barrier” to adequate care.
The lack of technological awareness is becoming more difficult to work around as Congress is confronting the complexities of cryptocurrencies, facial recognition and digital privacy on an almost daily basis. It’s time for Congress to shake the dust off and catch up.
Companies like Facebook and Google have ushered in change — much of it positive — for individuals, communities and governments. But we still have a responsibility to ask whether they're serving the public interest.
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