Digital Government
EPA site makes smog data clearly accessible
Summer may be the season for sunshine and sandals, but it's also the season for smog. If you want to know more about this form of air pollution that creates haze and makes it hard to breathe, you can find a wealth of information on the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow World Wide Web site (w
Digital Government
What If It Doesn't Work?
So what do you do when you're in the fourth year of your Year 2000 remediation program? What else can you tackle after you've spent more than $40 million to fix 292 systems for the county government? What's left to recommend after preaching that the Year 2000 date change is not a technical problem
Digital Government
State and Local Governments Help FCC Reinvent Itself
The Federal Communications Commission earlier this week solicited input from state and local governments in an effort to complete its fiveyear strategy for restructuring and streamlining agency functions.
Digital Government
IRS signs mega-deal for electronic software upgrades
In one of the largest deals of its kind by a civilian agency, the Internal Revenue Service this week signed a $120 million deal for the electronic delivery of, and upgrades of, Microsoft Corp. software for 130,000 desktops nationwide.
Digital Government
County Tries 'Photo Breathalyzer' To Monitor Drunk Drivers
The Community Corrections Department in Wells County, Ind., is trying out a new athome breath alcohol test for repeat drunk driving offenders. The test relies on photography rather than voice recognition to confirm the offender's identity. The new system from Ameritech Corp. subsidiary SecurityLink (www.securitylink.com) is getting high marks from officers and offenders alike.
Digital Government
Jersey City Nabbed for Unlicensed Software Use
The Jersey City (N.J.) Housing Authority settled recently with the Business Software Alliance to the tune of $175,000 for using unlicensed software on agency computers. The JCHA case is just the latest in a series of BSA antipiracy sting operations aimed at cracking down on illegal software use among state and local government agencies.
Digital Government
Five Governors Enter Regional Y2K Compact
Governors of five states announced their intent to share Year 2000 resources and information under a series of crosslicensing agreements that will allow states to swap materials and coordinate efforts to prepare the public for the millennial date change.
Digital Government
Congress, NSA butt heads over Echelon
Congress has squared off with the National Security Agency over a topsecret U.S. global electronic surveillance program, requesting top intelligence officials to report on the legal standards used to prevent privacy abuses against U.S. citizens.
Digital Government
OMB: Agencies must post Web privacy policies
The Office of Management and Budget yesterday directed agencies to post clear policies of what information they collect about visitors to their World Wide Web sites by Sept. 1.
Digital Government
Wyoming signs GIS deal for trasnportation
Wyoming's Department of Transportation signed a deal with geographic information system vendor Environmental Research Systems Institute Inc. to generate an enterprisewide system for the agency.
Digital Government
NIST's AutoBid Automates Police Patrol Car Shopping
Choosing the right car can be a difficult decision even for the nation's police departments, which must weigh performance criteria such as speed vs. fuel economy.
Digital Government
Arizona Uses Motorists' Own Radar Detectors to Beef Up Safety
Arizona's Department of Public Safety (DPS) is testing an advanced warning system that uses transmitters and commercially available radar detectors to warn motorists coming upon accidents, stopped police vehicles or highway road crews on Arizona highways.
Digital Government
Feds must protect against cyberattacks, experts say
The federal government must carefully consider the policy issues for protecting the nation's critical infrastructure from cyberattacks issues that the conflict in Yugoslavia has shown are more important today than ever before, according to federal and industry experts.
Digital Government
Washington State's Steve Kolodney Vacates Post
Steve Kolodney, Washington state's chief information officer and the Year 2000 point man for the National Association of State Information Resource Executives, said he will leave his state post later this month.
Digital Government
States Spotty on Welfare-Tracking Capability
Only seven states keep files comprehensive enough to track former welfare recipients who have moved off government rosters, according to an audit prepared recently by the U.S. General Accounting Office.
Digital Government
Juvenile Justice Bill Breezes Through U.S. Senate
A juvenile justice bill that would pump $5 billion over the next five years into state and local law enforcement programs passed the U.S. Senate recently by a 3to1 margin. The bill (S. 254) includes grants to states to the tune of $75 million a year to upgrade their juvenile criminal record systems and interface with a national criminal history database know as NCIC.
Digital Government
Missouri Police CIO to Spearhead State Issues on Presidential Criminal Justice Network Commission
Missouri State Police chief information officer Jerry Wethington will represent the National Association of State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE) on a presidential commission that will examine global criminal justice initiatives and architecture issues.
Digital Government
New York Considers Privacy Package
In what may be the most comprehensive state effort yet to protect consumers from privacy violations that result from the use of computer, network and other modern technology, the New York State Assembly late last week passed part of a comprehensive legislative package aimed at safeguarding residents against identity theft, financial loss, damaged credit ratings and discrimination.
Digital Government
Motorola Swipes Bay Area Smart Card Project
San Francisco's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has awarded a 10year, $114 million contract to Motorola and the ERG Group to install and operate a smart card fare system. The collection system will enable riders to pay for transit system travel throughout the ninecounty Bay Area with a single regional smart card.
Digital Government