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Women are underrepresented in technology fields, but especially so in cybersecurity. It's not just a matter of fairness. Women are better than men at key aspects of keeping the internet safe.
The pandemic has generated another round of work by states to craft some kind of tracking app that doesn’t violate privacy rules. Meanwhile, policymakers have turned their attention to cybercrimes and surveillance.
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Continue to follow along with our new #GovernmentNow and #PublicSectorNow blog series, where we’ll address stories of innovation and inspiration, pressing topics, and changing perspectives for today’s ever-evolving world.
Timothy White, chancellor of the California State University system, said regarding the decision to suspend on-campus learning for the fall 2020 semester. The university system is the largest four-year public college system in the nation with 23 campuses and approximately 480,000 students. (NPR — May 14, 2020)
The year by which General Motors plans to power its Spring Hill, Tenn., manufacturing plant with electric power. The car manufacturer hopes to have U.S. GM-owned sites be 100 percent electric-powered by 2030.
Social distancing has discouraged riders from using public transit, so officials are hoping to encourage alternative transportation methods. But even still, riders need to be reassured that public transit is virus free.
Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget would save the state $2.8 billion in the next fiscal year but it would mean that all state workers, including the governor and his staff, would receive a 10 percent pay cut.
The Federal Communications Commission awarded several Alabama health groups grant money to expand their telemedicine services. “It’s horrendous that this has occurred, but it has put telehealth in the forefront.”
Washington state halted unemployment payments for two days as they tried to block $1.6 million of fraudulent claims. While the state has not been ravaged by unemployment, about 1 million unemployed workers still seek aid.
Communities that have lost population temporarily are at risk of an undercount, costing them state and federal aid for a decade. But with a little help from Congress, there are solutions.
The author’s masterpiece, The Plague, will make you think, ask all sorts of Socratic questions of yourself and form resolutions about how you intend to measure your life after getting through this global catastrophe.
Unprecedented. The word has taken on the quality of ubiquity in the COVID-19 era. It signals in part that some things are changing everything — the Internet that allows work to be virtual and done anywhere; a suite of permanent coronavirus precautions that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago; and the prospect of what Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer calls the “Greater Depression” because of its anticipated depth, breadth and length. Against all that, you just want to go back to work at the office. You miss seeing your colleagues and the chance conversations that help solve problems, and even the goodies left in the breakroom. After eight weeks of being “safe at home,” getting back to the workplace sounds good — but don’t bet on it.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said regarding the state’s decision to begin lifting stay-at-home orders. “As our state cautiously moves forward we fully understand that not all counties are in the same situation.” (AP News — May 13, 2020)
The amount that U.S. airlines are collectively wasting each month as Americans have stopped nearly all air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
California must grapple with a budget deficit that could amount to more than $54 billion by next July. In the short term, there are several budget areas the state can pull from. But the long-term solution is uncertain.
A Tennessee Congressman hopes to stop the Tennessee Valley Authority from outsourcing 108 of its IT jobs to foreign companies. “It is incomprehensible that TVA would outsource jobs held by hard-working Americans.”
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled against Gov. Tony Evers’ “safer at home” order, so local governments are announcing their own “stay home” directives to keep Wisconsinites home and economies closed.
The COVID-19 crisis has inspired new thinking about how communities can embrace technology to better serve the people who live in them. We can be intentional about what we create.
During the pandemic, most governors have signed executive orders waiving requirements regarding medical licensing and health facilities. Republicans want to shield businesses broadly from civil liability for the spread of COVID-19.
Rockdale, once home to one of the largest aluminum processing operations in the country, is now the location of what could be one of the world’s biggest bitcoin computing mines. But nothing is guaranteed.
Public schools face a litany of problems relating to COVID-19 that include significant drops in funding, distribution issues for school lunch programs, lack of broadband access and bus driver protection.
The social media giant will keep its employees working from home until September. After that it will reopen its ‘warm and welcoming’ offices to those employees who want to, or must, return.
Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said of the decision to extend travel restrictions between the United States and Canada until June 21 as a result of the coronavirus. (Reuters — May 13, 2020)
The number of daily travelers through Seattle Tacoma International Airport in March. Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were about 55,000 daily travelers through the Washington airport.
Thirteen attorneys general want more information from Amazon after concerns the company is not ensuring worker safety during the pandemic. Failure to release the information could violate consumer protection laws.
Airports will begin implementing technology, like thermal cameras and sanitation booths, to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission within airports. Air travel has decreased as much as 95 percent during the pandemic.
A federal judge ordered Gov. Cuomo to include a sign language interpreter in his daily coronavirus briefings. “We should not have been forced to go to court to ensure the safety of thousands of deaf New Yorkers.”
The CARES Act relief will be spent on things like mobile testing sites and technology upgrades. But it could also help food insecurity and business loans. “We have the flexibility to address what we need to address.”
Gov. Inslee says the state is nearly ready to deploy 1,371 contract tracers as part of the state’s first phase of reopening. Washington state is still sheltering in place through the end of May.
The Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons said regarding the FTC’s investigation into privacy complaints about Zoom, the video conferencing software. (Reuters — May 11, 2020)
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