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Gov. Newsom has required that all Californians wear face masks to try to prevent further spread of COVID-19, but many local leaders are refusing to enforce the order, claiming that Newsom is overstepping his authority.
A group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would ban the government use of facial recognition technology. The bill comes after a Detroit man was falsely arrested after being misidentified by police using the tech.
It's transforming the worlds of real estate and development. Cities and counties can experiment with it for themselves, but their most important role is in sharing the data that drives it.
A moment captured by Governing’s David Kidd is about to become history. Over the weekend, the state Legislature passed by a large majority a bill to remove the Confederate symbol from the official flag.
Allissa Richardson, a pioneer in mobile journalism, discusses the emergence of smartphones and social media as tools to fight back against the mistreatment of marginalized citizens by law enforcement.
The week in cybersecurity includes news about proposed changes to California’s privacy law, federal aid to protect schools from cyberattacks and calls for the police to stop partnering with Amazon’s Ring surveillance service.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking of the state’s orders to close all bars and scale back restaurant capacities after coronavirus cases have surged in the state. The nation has seen an all-time high of daily case counts as 40,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in one day. (AP News — June 26, 2020)
The amount that a coalition, led by the World Health Organization, is asking for in donations from government and private agencies to combat COVID-19. The initiative hopes to deliver 500 million tests by mid-2021 and 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021.
The California Air Resources Control Board hopes to reduce air pollution by requiring that companies begin using zero-emissions big rigs. Eventually, the state hopes to have all new trucks be emissions-free by 2045.
An attempt to expand vote-by-mail ahead of the fall election failed last week as South Carolina shifted funds to coronavirus relief and broadband. The same day, the number of reported cases reached a single-day record.
As companies and cities across the nation begin distancing themselves from facial recognition technology, Tampa has no plans to abandon the tech nor will there be a pause while regulations are established.
Self-reporting coronavirus tracking apps have yet to be widely adopted in Minnesota due to concerns over privacy and tech issues. But as the virus spreads beyond officials’ ability to trace it, tracking apps could help.
Tampa, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Los Angeles are repurposing streets for business and pedestrian use during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, the programs have been well received, and may even survive past the pandemic.
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Have you ever wondered why you have to use a series of FOIA tools to track, manage, process and produce your FOIA requests?
Josh Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky who studies voter rights, commenting on the delayed election results of Kentucky and New York’s primaries this week. (AP News — June 25, 2020)
The proportion of Americans that believe the United States should use taxpayer money to pay reparations to African Americans, according to a recent survey. The poll also found that only 10 percent of white Americans support the payments and that nearly 80 percent of Republicans were “heavily opposed.”
Robert Williams, a Black man, was misidentified by police facial recognition software as a suspected shoplifter, resulting in him being arrested and detained. For many, this is a reason why the technology shouldn’t be used.
Nearly half a million residents currently live without high-speed Internet. As people work and learn from home, there is an urgency for connectivity. “Education cannot be effective or available without broadband.”
The state is considering layoffs and salary cuts as a few ways to reduce losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With less than a week until the new fiscal year, unions have come out opposed to the proposed cuts.
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The need to improve government programs and processes has taken on new urgency, but accomplishing successful transformation requires the right approach.
Designed around the user and not the bureaucracy, an innovative Philadelphia program uses data-matching so applicants won't have to fill out multiple forms for different assistance programs.
Residents of senior care facilities are particularly vulnerable to the most damaging effects of COVID-19. Recent legislation aims to prevent lack of resources or bad practices from making things worse.
Andrew Perry, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, on how the economy impacts Black businesses and workers differently than the impacts on the white equivalent. (PEW — June 22, 2020)
The average poverty rate in opportunity zones, according to the Economic Innovation Group. Nearly 60 percent of opportunity zone residents are nonwhite.
Predictive policing software was founded in Santa Cruz in 2012, but now the city has banned the use of both facial recognition and predictive policing technologies, in a unanimous vote by the city council.
The state’s Employment Department announced last week that there is a backlog of 70,000 unprocessed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims. The department hopes to overcome the backlog in six or seven weeks.
The state surpassed 6,000 new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period for the second day in a row as the state continues to reopen. Twenty-eight percent of the state’s total positive cases were reported within the last two weeks.
Governments need to move promptly to change rules and procedures to maximize eligible-voter participation while safeguarding health and protecting the election's integrity.
Chamber leaders and committee chairs are losing their seats. It's not easy to face voters during a combined health and economic crisis, but many primaries also represent ideological battles.
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We’ve all spoken about and planned for a pandemic for years, but now it is real. How does government and education provide “Continuity of Operations” (CooP) in this pandemic?
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