News
Idaho state Sen. Steven Thayn, commenting on the ability of health districts to close schools due to the coronavirus pandemic. A new proposal would block the health districts’ authority to close schools. (Idaho Education News — August 10, 2020)
The number of posts containing hate speech that Facebook removed from its site during the second quarter of the year. The figure was a significant increase from the first quarter’s 9.6 million posts that were removed.
Many people who participate in disinformation campaigns are unwitting accomplices and much of the information they spread is accurate, which makes it all the harder to identify the campaigns.
About three-quarters of voters in Mankato, Minn., used mail-in ballots for Tuesday’s primary. The remaining quarter voted in person and saw seamless execution as polling places were prepared with masks and sanitizer.
The police department for the second largest city in Massachusetts has touted the benefits of the $11 million body cam contract for improving transparency. But the public still wants the city to defund the police.
New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that lawfully issued search warrants can call for defendants to turn over their phone’s passcode. But critics say the ruling infringes on privacy rights.
Even as cases of COVID-19 surged, public-sector employment — like the rest of the economy — continued a slow, steady recovery in July. But state and local governments foresee danger as they prep for next year's budgets.
State and local government workers in Washington will continue to work remotely through the end of the year. Officials hope that the advanced notice allows time for adjustment and preparation.
Trump is not the first president to portray his opponent as anti-religion or of the wrong faith. The tradition goes back to the beginning of the republic. But the controversy has gained momentum recently.
Thousands of federal, state workers risk their lives each day by showing up to work. Legally, they should be receiving hazard pay, but many haven’t gotten anything. For those that did, the payments stopped months ago.
Wyoming Rep. Charles Pelkey, commenting on businesses that don’t require or even allow their employees to wear masks and the danger that they are imposing on their employees. Wyoming has enacted a law that protects businesses from liability lawsuits in response to COVID-19, but many are concerned that the law will protect businesses that were acting in disregard to coronavirus protections. (PEW — August 11, 2020)
The proportion of daily COVID-19 cases in the Americas that are from the United States, amounting to 50,000 cases each day.
Legislators want to know if the state agency inadvertently abetted the scam by lowering fraud detection protocols to speed up legitimate claims by hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians left jobless by the pandemic.
A former elections supervisor is alleged to have used election security funds to cover up personal spendings. Along with a lack of oversight, officials also have to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s political corruption.”
California has fixed a glitch that underreported the state’s COVID-19 data and the director of the Department of Public Health suddenly resigned. But many are skeptical of the response and worried they’re being misled.
The pandemic's disruptions have raised awareness of the digital divide and energized localities' initiatives to narrow it. To continue making progress, policymakers need to make sure the funding is there.
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The technology community has a critical role to play in this fight by driving the creation of innovative tools and putting them into the hands of medical and scientific experts that are leading the way.
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Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program serves families of children who otherwise would receive free or reduced-priced meals in school lunchrooms
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The COVID-19 pandemic created a huge rise in remote government work, and enhanced citizen expectations for agencies to adapt to today’s always-on, digital world.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Patrick Foye, in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging the tech company to develop new technology that would allow iPhone users to unlock their phones without taking off their masks. (AP News — August 10, 2020)
The number of states and Washington, D.C., that enacted eviction moratoriums to assist renters during the coronavirus pandemic; 24 of those states’ moratoriums have expired. As of July 29, 43 percent of renters were unable to make rent, putting them at risk for eviction.
Miami-Dade public schools will be virtual until at least Oct. 5, but many teachers and parents are uncertain about what comes next. “If we could have some standard precautions, I’m not afraid of being in the classroom.”
Gov. Mike DeWine has said that he does not know if Ohio will be able to afford the $100 state match needed to extend the $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits. Ohio isn’t the only state with financial concerns.
While Latinos are only 13 percent of Washington’s population, they make up 43 percent of the state’s positive COVID-19 cases. Public officials are struggling with why the rate is so high and what can be done to reduce it.
The state has spent $43 million suing the Trump administration, resulting in billions of dollars in savings. Since Trump took office, the attorney general’s office has filed over 90 lawsuits against the administration.
Silicon Valley was going to help America keep track of COVID-19 with badly needed technology. Yet, states never embraced the idea, and tech firms couldn’t overcome privacy concerns. But the idea is getting a reboot.
What’s it like to be a front-line government official in the COVID era? The mayor of Hattiesburg, Miss., talks candidly about "awful moments,” as he navigates a pandemic, an economic meltdown and racial tensions.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, commenting on CARES Act spending that is used to repair roads and highways instead of providing direct aid to citizens and businesses. (PEW — August 7, 2020)
The amount that the U.S. Postal Service has lost from April to June as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials predict that the service could see a total loss of $20 billion over the next two years.
There are approximately 325,000 rural Marylanders and 40 percent of households in Baltimore that can’t access high-speed Internet. While digital equity isn’t a new issue, it’s now urgent as many work and learn from home.
