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The Maine public safety commissioner recently acknowledged that the state police use facial recognition and other surveillance technologies as part of their investigations. Lawmakers are concerned about citizen privacy.
UC Berkeley found that 89 percent of California voters are okay with the three-day law for counting ballots, which allows more time and ways to vote. It “reaffirms what we’ve believed for a long time.”
Millennials now outnumber baby boomers in the public-sector workforce. Retention and recruitment can be tough across the board but perhaps nowhere more challenging than in IT. Leaders must work with HR and create incentives and pathways to keep the next generation engaged and on board.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked that lawmakers allow $20 million from the state’s disaster and emergency funds to be used to bolster the efforts against the coronavirus.
Plus, more tax software woes, fintech financial raises for building projects soften for 2020, Texas school district loses millions in phishing scam, and Americans would sell their privacy out for cheap on Facebook.
Jeffrey Duchin, the top public health officer for Seattle and King County, Wash., commenting on challenges faced by public health agencies as they prepare for the expected outbreak of the coronavirus in the U.S. (Governing — March 2, 2020)
The proportion of Americans who do not want Internet companies to share user information with political campaigns to target digital ads to certain voters, a Gallup poll discovered. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed also said that websites should show political ads as long as who paid for the ad, how much the ad cost and who the ad is targeting are disclosed.
San Jose is one of the main tech hubs in California’s Silicon Valley and yet almost 10 percent of its residents live without Internet in their homes. But a grant program hopes to close that gap.
The Georgia county only has half of its new garbage trucks on the road due to lack of drivers so officials try raising wages to attract workers.
Maryland lawmakers have proposed considerable changes to the state’s sales tax to hopefully assist schools. It would include a lower sales tax but an expansion into professional services.
State officials are ramping up their efforts to get Mississipians to participate in the Census. For each resident that isn’t counted, the state could lose $5,000 annually. “There has never been a more bipartisan issue.”
New Mexico’s electric grid needs an update and House Bill 233 would provide tools and plans to assist in that modernization. The bill was approved by the Legislature and just needs a signature from the governor.
Several New Hampshire cities are considering the implementation of body cameras to increase police transparency. But the tech is expensive, costing about half a million dollars to lease for five years.
San Diego has over 3,000 smart streetlights that collect city data. While distribution of the tech is fairly even, police access streetlight data more frequently when it’s from neighborhoods of color, which raises concerns.
An effort to overturn a law requiring vaccines in Maine went down to resounding defeat on Tuesday. That doesn't mean the fight is over in other states.
Carl Schramm, a retiree in Alaska who is working as a census canvasser, where the work is inconsistent, the communication is poor and the conditions are tough, especially in rural Alaska. (AP News — February 28, 2020)
The amount that the Federal Communications Commission is fining telecom companies, like T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, finding that they broke federal law by sharing customer geolocation data without the necessary consent. Critics contend the sanctions are just “a set of comically inadequate fines that won’t stop phone companies from abusing Americans’ privacy the next time they can make a quick buck.”
Tennessee has put millions of dollars into efforts to expand broadband and digital literacy in its rural communities and the state is still coming up short. “This isn’t something seen as a ‘nice to have’ anymore.”
A letter posted online last week expressed opposition to use of facial recognition on college and university campuses as it “poses a unique threat to safety, civil liberties, and academic freedom on campus.”
The plan would expand light rail routes, install “smart” technologies and encourage bike and pedestrian transit, but it’s a heavy lift for local governments as the feds are only expected to contribute $45.5 billion.
Tennessee Valley Authority is replacing IT specialists in Chattanooga with a French-based contractor. The union that represents TVA workers says that the company is threatening its own cybersecurity by breaking contract.
State and local governments have adapted plans for other pandemics and are putting them into action. They're hoping for better coordination and more funding from the feds. Officials insist that they’re up to the challenge.
Far too many Americans still don't have access in their homes to the technology and affordable high-speed broadband they need to succeed in today's economy. We need to think of it as a civil and human right.
Duluth, Minn., has very little, and its mayor would like to see more minorities among its residents. But the city's strong homegrown civic culture seems to be serving it well.
Collecting census data online creates new risks to the accuracy and integrity of the information. Here's what you need to know.
Joice Wu said of her “How to Spot Fake News” class, which hopes to teach senior citizens how to fact-check articles and read critically. (NPR — February 26, 2020)
The proportion of state and local government IT/security professionals who reported that their cybersecurity budget has not changed even though cyberattacks have increased in the past year.
Flippy is a robot that can make burgers and chicken fingers and costs less than a human worker. But robots, like Flippy, are a financial risk that don’t always work. “We took a bet. A risky bet. But it’s paying off.”
A sales tax that helps to pay for King County Metro bus service is set to expire this year and could be renewed in August. Decisions about who and how to pay for the bus service are caught up in a larger controversy about transportation funding in a recent ballot measure and subsequent court challenge.
California’s proposed database to track homeless populations across the state is easier said than done. Getting clear communication and consistent collection across the state won’t happen overnight.
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