Web Headlines

Headlines from around the Web for Wednesday, Dec. 19.

Compiled by Melanie Bender

Poll Finds IT Workers Are Well-Off, Mostly Male and Concerned About Iraq

ComputerWorld

The IT workforce is overwhelmingly male, white and well-paid, and it sees the war in Iraq as the top political issue in the U.S., according to a poll of 600 tech workers by the Computing Technology Industry Association.

Congress Eases Access to Government Records

The Associated Press

Congress on Tuesday struck back at the Bush administration's trend toward secrecy since the 2001 terrorist attacks, passing legislation to toughen the Freedom of Information Act and increasing penalties on agencies that don't comply.

Congress Lags on Tech Issues in '07

ComputerWorld

No one is calling 2007 a banner year for the technology industry in the U.S. Congress. Congress passed a handful of bills that were on the wish lists of many tech vendor and trade groups, but in several cases, they represented only partial victories.

St. Louis Park Plans to Drop Wireless Contractor

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

St. Louis Park is dropping the contractor that was supposed to build the nation's first solar-powered citywide wireless Internet service. It will soon look for a new partner. City staff members estimate delays by the Maryland-based company have cost the city $300,000 in lost revenue.

Airport Fast-Pass Moves Slowly

BusinessWeek

Clear, a system which lets screened travelers skip long security lines, epitomizes the pitfalls of developing technology for Homeland Security agencies. Such partnerships between the private sector and DHS often become mired in bureaucracy.

In Colorado, Solution for Election Woes May Not be Simple

Rocky Mountain News

Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman tried Tuesday to ease widespread anxiety about upcoming elections by proposing ways that flawed electronic voting systems could be used in 2008 with small fixes and the help of new legislation. Meanwhile, voter advocacy groups laid the groundwork for another lawsuit.

Feinstein Offers Compromise: Secret Court Review of Wiretap Cases

San Francisco Chronicle

With the Senate at an impasse over protecting telecommunications companies from lawsuits for sharing phone calls and e-mails with the government, Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she has a possible compromise: allowing a secret court to decide whether the firms believed they were acting legally.

Judge Blocks Fla. Voter Registration Law

The Associated Press

A federal judge blocked enforcement Tuesday of a Florida law that prevents people from registering to vote if officials cannot match their Social Security or driver's license numbers to federal or state databases.