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Supply isn't the only issue. Big logistical problems require federal leadership. How quickly can the Biden administration execute a 180-degree turnaround?
Minneapolis City Council member Steve Fletcher, commenting on a proposal to ban city police and department use of facial recognition technology. The measure to prohibit the technology has advanced and will go to the full council on Feb. 12. (Associated Press — Jan. 22, 2021)
The number of states in which Walmart will begin providing COVID-19 inoculations starting next week. The retailer was already providing vaccinations in New Mexico and Arkansas, but will now expand into Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas. Walmart will also begin distributing vaccines in Chicago and Puerto Rico.
The current bus terminal will be replaced with a commuter hub that will hold 40 percent more passengers and charging stations for an all-electric bus fleet. The project could cost up to $10 billion and will be completed by 2030.
The Legal Aid Society has denounced the district attorney’s use of Clearview AI, the surveillance database, and has demanded the D.A. disclose how his office has used and is using the technology.
Top state police officials have downloaded encryption applications on their state-issued phones which keep no record of deleted text messages. Some are concerned that these practices break the Freedom of Information Act.
Most states set a mandatory retirement age for their judges, typically 70. Does that still make sense in this day and time? The wisdom and stability of longevity are worth something.
Michael Madigan and Mike Miller are the most prominent among a host of legislators who held office for decades and have recently been ousted from leadership, retired or passed away.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, regarding the Republican party’s decision about whether or not to redirect some of their values now that President Trump is out of office. This is also the first time in over 10 years that the GOP has been the minority in Washington. (Associated Press — Jan. 21, 2021)
The number of jobs that Minnesota lost last month as new restrictions were placed on restaurants, bars and gyms. The state’s hospitality industry accounted for the majority of the loss, declining by 41,100 jobs.
Vaccines arrived more than a month before the state’s immunization system was ready, forcing health-care providers to create makeshift systems to record patient data that required hours of administrative work.
In November, officials estimated a budget shortfall of $86 million, but it turns out the actual numbers are much worse. Now the city must find areas to cut spending to adjust for the 10 percent gap.
States and localities tried for years to figure out ways to tax online sales, without success. The Supreme Court gave them a green light in 2018, which has proven key to surviving the pandemic financially.
A new book by a founding member of Boston’s Urban Mechanics calls for changing how government addresses its problems and provides an operating manual for generating new ideas and putting them into practice.
Hispanics are almost 19 percent of the U.S. population, but account for only 6 percent of state legislators. Thirteen percent of these officials are Republicans.
The New England First Amendment Coalition, in a letter to Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, who has been tapped by President Joe Biden to serve as commerce secretary, regarding complaints that Raimondo has not made herself available for questions from the press since her nomination to the Biden administration. (Associated Press — Jan. 20, 2021)
The proportion of Americans who want lawmakers to pass legislation regarding social media companies’ content moderation policies, according to a new survey. Additionally, 65 percent of respondents believed that social media platforms had too much influence over U.S. politics and society.
Butler County is bolstering cybersecurity for its IT systems after the sheriff’s department was hit by a malware attack over the holidays. Officials say no sensitive information was compromised.
The city will try to enroll 5,000 young adults in college this spring and connect over 2,000 high school students with internships and other opportunities to earn college credit.
State officials worry possible labor shortages could occur if too many dock workers get sick, which would create a severe slowdown of the multibillion-dollar industry, and are urging workers to get vaccinated.
Public transit authorities will split the federal funds, which will be used to maintain service line operations as well as avoid worker layoffs. Ridership has dropped significantly since the pandemic started.
One of the first actions of the Biden Administration will be the proposed U.S. Citizenship Act, which would provide an 8-year road map to citizenship for approximately 11 million immigrants currently in the U.S.
The attacks on the U.S. Capitol building early this month are an important reminder of why great Americans, from Thomas Jefferson to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, see architecture as a crucial component of our system of government.
The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relation’s Richard Immerman, commenting on the Trump White House’s behavior regarding record-keeping that could result in an incomplete collection and a hole in American history. (Associated Press — Jan. 16, 2021)
The proportion at which election misinformation decreased after President Trump was suspended from his social media accounts. The research firm Zignal Labs reported that election fraud mentions dropped to 688,000 from 2.5 million after President Trump’s permanent suspension from Twitter.
Authorities remain concerned that right-wing violence could still erupt before or after Wednesday's inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, as it did Jan. 6 when President Trump incited supporters to descend on the Capitol.
Legislative IT officials must be prepared for both in-person and remote attacks, cybersecurity experts say. Laptops and other electronic devices should be locked or secured and hard drives encrypted.
Distributed power remains critical in the face of governance crises and federal assaults on liberal democracy. States and localities provide a sturdy popular base for modeling better policy outcomes.
Pennsylvania’s health secretary has been tapped by Joe Biden to act as assistant secretary for health. If confirmed, she will be the first openly transgender person to serve in federal office.
Rapidly maturing technologies hold the key for dramatic improvements across an institution that was designed for incremental change. Governments need to act quickly, deliberately and flexibly.
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