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Never before have policymakers faced such daunting questions on regulating and legislating the growing impact of digital technology. We pick the most important issues they will grapple with this year.
Firefighters face an array of obstacles as they relay information in inhospitable situations. But a high-tech vest made from carbon atoms called graphene may be the answer to a serious voice and data transmission problem.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said regarding the Connecticut Port Authority’s redevelopment plan that will turn State Pier in New London into a test site for offshore wind power. The plan will cost $157 million and is expected to begin construction in 2021. (The Day — February 11, 2020)
The proportion of Georgia counties that have joined the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing Analysis Center, EI-ISAC, which is a division of the Center for Internet Security. According to Secretary of State Raffensperger, Georgia is the first state with more than 100 counties to join this team. “Election security is the first goal for me and for our local partners, the counties that actually run elections in Georgia.”
An Iowa senator proposed a “right to be forgotten” bill that would allow users to hide “content of minimal value” from public access. The bill’s sponsor hopes to provide online recourse “to take down or revise or correct content.”
North Carolina State University was awarded the money from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of an Apprenticeship: Closing the Skills Gap grant program. This is one of 28 programs the department hopes to establish.
While the bitcoin mining boom has left Plattsburgh, N.Y., for a northern neighbor, the residents are still using the cheap electricity to mine for cryptocurrencies and heat their houses.
A report found that switching Maine’s privately owned electric utility to a publicly owned one could raise customer rates and decrease state tax revenue. But some want more analysis on customer service and reliability first.
Mixed-income and diverse neighborhoods are good for our cities. There are policies we can pursue that can help to keep housing affordable and protect these communities' legacy residents.
David Victor, a professor of international relations at University of California, San Diego, proposed as an idea to combat global emissions of warming gases. Victor has joined a Europe-based study that is focused on producing electric aircraft. Scientists estimate that airline travel makes up about 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. (The San Diego Union-Tribune — February 17, 2020)
The cost of cobalt, one of the most expensive metals used in electric vehicle batteries. Tesla aims to reduce its use of cobalt down to “almost nothing” to reduce vehicle prices, and the company plans to do so by using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for its cars produced in the Shanghai gigafactory. Tesla has not said to what extent these LFP batteries would be used and has only said that they are cheaper than the existing batteries by a “double-digit percent.”
Lt. Gov. Husted wants to reduce red tape and also use more tech in government. Killing two birds with one stone: AI will review the 240,000 existing regulations and narrow them for review.
St. Paul is one of the cities across the nation using Amazon’s Ring cameras to improve policing. Some say there are security and data sharing concerns, others say, “Society has changed. The old way of policing is gone.”
Washington state, home to Amazon and Microsoft, wants to further regulate user data collection and facial recognition. Lawmakers think their legislation could become an example for other states.
Pennsylvania experienced problems with the new voting machines used last November. Then the Iowa failure happened. Now, with new election laws and, again, new voting machines, the state is nervous about the April primary.
Plus, 50-State Fiscal Forecast Looking Up, New Bonding for CA Public Schools, and Privatization of NYC Public Housing.
Outbreaks of diseases like the coronavirus start and have to be controlled at the local level. National governments and international organizations aren't doing enough to foster communities' resilience.
The New York police department subpoenaed the Twitter data in attempts of finding who leaked police photos to the reporter. The subpoena was withdrawn last Wednesday after lawyers got involved.
Mike Bloomberg “asked” in a meme sponsored by the official Bloomberg campaign. The campaign paid more than a dozen social media influencers to post Bloomberg memes to their Instagram pages, each of which have several million followers. This prompted Facebook to reverse its decision about sponsored political ads, now saying the platform will allow political campaigns to pay influencers to post sponsored messaging. (AP News — February 14, 2020)
The number of unique programs that were available to watch on TV last year, according to new data from Nielsen. The number includes programming across network broadcast TV, cable, streaming services, and all other kinds of outlets and includes past and present programs, though not individual episodes. “No, seriously. Someone counted.”
The California state auditor found that four law enforcement agencies have “risked individuals’ privacy” through an insecure license plate database. The report’s data suggests the problem could be statewide.
IBM reworked its hiring after realizing that “there’s over 700,000 [unfilled] tech jobs… there are only about 70,000 [candidates] with a computer science degree.” The new apprenticeship program hopes to bridge the gap.
Florida’s supervisor of elections has divulged a previously unreported ransomware virus in the elections department just weeks before the 2016 election. As the state preps for March primaries, concerns of security are amplified.
After trying Internet voting for overseas voters, West Virginia is expanding the option for those with physical disabilities. But MIT researchers now say they’ve found worrying flaws in the app the state has been using.
Boulder, Colo., wants to raise minimum wage, but the County Commissioners have touted benefits of a regional increase. State law allows wages to increase but limits the number of increases that can happen across the state.
California voters have the opportunity to vote in March on a $15 billion school bond, the largest in state history. Many believe it’s a good investment in future education, but others question the long-term payment plan.
Originally, analysis predicted that the General Assembly would cut state income tax by $550 million, but that number has since been updated. “Regaining the state’s fiscal footing will allow for investments in the future.”
Driverless cars and trucks could provide many benefits, from safer highways to improved mobility, but widespread adoption could shrink the vehicle-related revenue streams that states rely on.
California is working to consolidate all of its geographical data, with the longer-term goal of providing a central portal for everything. It's a chance to enrich governmental collaboration.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said as she proposed creating a new federal agency, Data Protection Agency, that would be responsible for protecting online user privacy. The U.S. is one of the few developed nations that does not have a third-party privacy watchdog. “As the data privacy crisis looms larger over the everyday lives of Americans, the government has a responsibility to step forward and give Americans meaningful protection over their data and how it’s being used.” (The Hill — February 13, 2020)
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