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The bill would force Apple and Google to keep products from Minnesota developers in their app stores even if the developers use their own payment systems. The tech companies take a 30 percent commission on app purchases.
The Texas electric power market is designed to give energy companies incentive to sell electricity at the lowest possible cost. That focus helps explain why it collapsed during a historic cold wave.
It was clear health-care workers and nursing home residents would receive the COVID-19 vaccine first. Then priorities became muddled. California has 61 vaccine priority lists and local officials are allowed to deviate.
In March 2020, as thousands of public sector workers shifted to remote work almost overnight, few would have guessed they would remain there for months.
Julie Mao, deputy director of Just Futures Law, commenting on the Biden administration’s proposal to install “smart technology” features on the Mexico border wall. A coalition of privacy and immigration rights groups are pushing back on the bill, saying the proposal is “Trump’s wall by another name.” (The Hill — Feb. 25, 2021)
The proportion of Americans 65 and older who do not have broadband at home, a percentage that increases for low-income and Black and Latino seniors. However, the pandemic has encouraged many to get more comfortable online: Americans 65 and older spent an average of $187 per month online in 2020, a 60 percent increase from the year prior.
To bring remote tech workers to the city, officials created Tusla Remote, which builds a community through networking, group activities and civic engagement opportunities. Now there’s financial incentive as well.
The legislation would block or remove government financial incentives from Big Tech companies that violate free speech by blocking conservatives from their sites. But many warn the bill could cost jobs and money.
Gov. Ned Lamont says the state’s new distribution plan will focus on speed and equity. But skeptics are concerned that the plan’s eligibility guidelines, which are almost entirely by age, will keep vulnerable groups waiting.
Gov. Janet Mills says the money would be spent on rural parts of the state where COVID-19 restrictions and low Internet connectivity have hurt education and the economy. Lawmakers say $30 million is good but not enough.
In response to reports detailing AI tech's disproportionate effect on communities of color, Washington state Sen. Bob Hasegawa introduced a bill to ban AI tech and regulate automated decision systems.
New mayors will be elected this year in New York, Seattle, Boston and other cities. Given problems with budgets and crime, why would anyone want the job?
Lawmakers should ensure that cumbersome state and local regulations and review processes don't prevent providers from building out and upgrading the infrastructure that high-speed, reliable connectivity requires.
It’s the only way to get a bill out of Congress before the fall, given the imperative to get COVID relief done first. Governors and mayors need to understand that it’s a game of chess, not checkers.
Five members of ERCOT, all of whom live out of state, will resign after the historic winter storm caused mass blackouts. ERCOT covers 75 percent of the state and manages 90 percent of the state’s electrical power load.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, regarding a federal judge’s decision that California can enforce its net neutrality law. Wiener, the author of the law, marked the ruling as “a huge victory” for free Internet access, democracy and the economy. (Associated Press — Feb. 24, 2021)
The proportion of federal relief aid that would be sent to states that voted for Biden in November under the American Rescue Plan relief package. In total, the bill would provide $350 billion to state and local governments.
Data shows that the low administration rate in Clark County has been caused by a shorting of vaccines from the state. The county has received 3 percent fewer doses than similarly sized Spokane County.
The City Council approved the creation of two new councils to develop a community that is able to support and encourage new businesses. Both advisory committees will begin accepting applications in March.
Access codes that were intended to provide California’s vulnerable neighborhoods with a COVID vaccine priority have been used by non-eligible residents in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, exacerbating the existing inequity.
A new report by the Transportation Research Board points toward more seamless and coordinated connections among all forms of shared mobility, such as buses, bikes, trains, scooters and more.
When a president leaves the White House, he enters one of the most elite clubs. A book by two of America’s leading journalists looks at what binds these individuals together, given their personalities and politics.
With the feds leading the way, states are reopening their health-care exchanges to uninsured and eligible residents as part of the latest COVID relief plan. But not all enrollment windows are the same.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, voting rights are on the minds of legislators who have introduced hundreds of bills that either restrict or expand how voters can cast their ballots.
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A new operating model is emerging for state and local government leaders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s transforming the delivery of citizen services and engagement in ways that will accelerate resiliency in government. It will also help government attract, support, and retain the next generation of workers. But what changes will it bring and how can you prepare?
Oklahoma State Rep. Emily Virgin, regarding a proposed bill that would grant criminal and civil immunity to people who drive their vehicle into crowds of protestors on roadways. Legislators across the nation have introduced counterprotest measures in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred last summer. (Associated Press — Feb. 20, 2021)
The estimated number of public Confederate symbols that were removed from public spaces in 2020.
Cyberattacks increased 214 percent globally in 2020, compared to the year prior, according to a new report. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Vietnam were the major sources of attacks against the health-care sector.
The pandemic assistance plan includes more than $2.1 billion in grants and fee waivers for small businesses as well as $600 stimulus payments for residents with an annual salary of $30,000 or less.
With COVID-19 vaccine in short supply, more people are turning to social media for useful information as they scour the Internet for available immunizations. And they are getting it.
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