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The coronavirus crisis has made it clear that technology is essential to continuity of government. CIOs may see more of their wish lists fulfilled, but investing in IT will be tough with budgets heading south.
Communicating during a crisis calls for government to deliver a balance of credible, correct and timely information. It’s not easy, but tested strategies and tools are available.
The slogan chosen by Mayor Jenny Durkan to rally a city suffering under the #CoronavirusOutbreak with a flag-raising Thursday on the Space Needle. (Twitter — March 26, 2020)
The number of newly designed ventilators that the vacuum company, Dyson, has promised to the U.K. National Health Service. "This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently and at volume.”
Pittsburgh is looking to implement a hyperloop to speed up transportation. But even smaller counties, like Beaver County, are starting to think about their futures and “how they want to propel [themselves] into the mid-21st century.”
Not only do officials have to mitigate the real concerns brought on by COVID-19, they also have to manage the infodemic that’s spreading misinformation. “Part of what I spend my day doing is just dispelling that.”
According to Washington state’s Employment Security Department 133,464 residents filed for unemployment last week, five times greater than any week during the Great Recession, and the influx is creating tech issues.
Gavin Newsom and Andrew Cuomo have seemed to take on managing the coronavirus pandemic as they govern the two states with the most cases. Even the federal government is taking notice of ‘America’s Governors.’
Nearly half the nation's legislatures have adjourned or canceled sessions. Where they're still meeting, lawmakers are improvising to keep a safe distance from one another.
The economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic is making benefit programs more important than ever. It's critical to get information to people who need it and simplify application processes.
The U.S. Postal service is looking to hire about 1,000 people throughout California’s Bay Area. Other essential-work companies, like Walmart, Safeway, and Albertsons, are also going to be hiring workers to offset the shifted demands during the coronavirus pandemic. (The Mercury News — March 26, 2020)
The number of Americans that applied for unemployment benefits last week, a devastating reflection of the coronavirus pandemic’s financial impacts. It’s five times greater than the previous record from 1982.
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has experienced an 82 percent drop in visits since requiring customers to have an appointment. Frustrated, concerned workers are still required to come in.
The employees that work in a field that has been deemed “essential” stil have to go to work every day. How is “essential work” determined and what are the risks for those that are working normally?
Once heralded as the solution to most election woes, our affinity for paperless voting technology has dimmed. Today, experts consider it one of the biggest liabilities, and favor a return to paper ballots.
As unmanned aerial technology advances, millions of dollars in new business activity and innovation need regulatory clarity from federal, state and, in particular, local authorities.
The decisions governments are making to cope with the spread of the coronavirus will disproportionately impact low-income communities. These decisions need to be made through an equity lens.
In an emergency like the coronavirus pandemic, local leaders can use powerful tools for visualizing data to highlight our residents' interconnectivity and the need for collective action.
A new book's exploration of how places that have been battered by powerful forces have succeeded or failed has much to teach us about our own communities.
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said in response to recent proposals to lift social distancing guidelines to buffer economic damage. He added that he thinks the shutdown may need to remain in place for six to 10 weeks. (The Hill — March 24, 2020)
The number of monthly users of the Weather Channel app, which has just released tracking and trending data down to a county level about COVID-19.
Coronavirus’ lockdowns and social distancing have created a massive societal shift toward the online world. ‘Artificial Intelligence’ jobs are predicted to grow in a time when many other jobs are faltering.
Nine days before the WHO announced it, a tech startup found a news article about the not-yet-named COVID-19. If pertinent social media data was public, they might have spotted the disease even earlier.
Ridership on buses and light rail has taken a nosedive since the coronavirus outbreak as people are social distancing and remote work has become the norm, at least temporarily. Many wonder if ridership will revive post-coronavirus.
Last week, Governing’s senior writer Alan Greenblatt gave us his top 10 tips on how to stay on task while away from the office and co-workers. This week, we bring you Dustin Haisler’s 10 best apps for remote work.
State legislatures have introduced more than 200 bills relating to COVID-19 since the beginning of the year to address public health issues only government can handle. Here’s our rundown.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in an email to the 140,000 employees worldwide regarding the vast range of situations each worker is in during this unprecedented time. Thousands of workers worldwide are having to adjust to working remotely, a changed workflow or even work displacement. (The Seattle Times — March 22, 2020)
The number of U.S. students that are affected by school closures during the COVID-19 outbreak. To slow the spread of the virus, 118,000 schools in the U.S. have closed.
Disruption has long been a cornerstone of technology innovation, and new “hacks” to old problems remain essential to dreaming up and creating what’s new and what’s next — and asking whether we even need it.
In the past, health officials have released information about infected patients for public safety. Some people believe this should happen again to prevent the spread of COVID-19, others believe it’s a violation of privacy.
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