Digital Government
Mapping coral reefs' health
Three agencies have teamed up to develop digital, highresolution maps of the nation's coral reefs in the first step in understanding and protecting these threatened habitats. A U.S. Coral Reef Task Force working group, cochaired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geo
Digital Government
Letters
Workers: Know your rights I just finished reading the Oct. 4 Bureaucratus column [FCW, 'Supervisors need to share leave rights'], which discusses the shabby treatment John Landahl received from the managers of the Fisheries Science Center. Those managers ought to be ashamed of themselves! I wish I
Digital Government
Fedwire Briefs
Bill tightens information security Sen. Fred Thompson (RTenn.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (DConn.) introduced on Nov. 19 the Government Information Security Act, a bill based on recommendations from the General Accounting Office on how to better secure federal information systems. GAO found that f
People
Vets take on Knife 31 IDs: Semper Fidelis
Randall Austin, who commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 9th Marine Regiment during the Mayaguez rescue, described the four-year effort to recover and identify the crew and passengers of the Air Force helicopter shot down during the rescue as living up to the spirit of the Marine Corps motto Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful.
Digital Government
You can take it with you
Remember when the term 'portables' brought to mind notebook computers? Next came mininotebooks and handheld organizers such as 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot. Now the list of gadgets seems endless. Vendors also are constantly improving existing products to make them more functional, durable and mobile. A
Digital Government
CIO advises 'follows the sun' on Y2K
California chief information officer Elias Cortez's Year 2000 strategy involves a Follow the Sun program to track the global impact of the date change up to 12 hours in advance.
Digital Government
CIO outlines e-commerce, digital divide plans
North Carolina chief information officer Rick Webb joined lawmakers and state agency representatives here at the recent National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council conference to outline the state's approach to electronic commerce, state S.B. 222, and the digital divide.
Digital Government
Budget should spare IT projects
Congress last week passed a $390 billion spending package that includes millions of dollars for information technology programs at key federal agencies in fiscal 2000. The bill, the result of long and intense budget negotiations between Capitol Hill leadership and the Clinton administration, calls
Digital Government
FBI bets on new IT initiative for security
Anticipating no new money for information security, the FBI is hoping a major computer project currently hung up in Congress will provide the new technology needed to make its information more secure, a top agency official said last week. Mark Tanner, information resources manager at the FBI, said
People
Identities of MIAs await confirmation by consultants
The Army's Central Identification Laboratory today emphasized that it will not complete the identification process for the last combatants killed in the Vietnam War until outside review boards approve the case files developed by lab scientists and anthropologists.
Digital Government
Weather watcher
Jamie Hawkins recalls that when he was a child he would sit under his sister's clear plastic bubble umbrella watching the thunderstorms roll in. Even after 21 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hawkins still is obsessed with watching the weather. 'I was an absolute weathe
Digital Government
States share Medicaid fraud funding woes
Members of a congressional panel this month listened to repeated tales of inadequate funding and antiquated technology preventing numerous state Medicaid agencies from effectively combating fraud cases that result in billions of dollars lost nationally each year. Some state Medicaid agencies are cr
Digital Government
New Year's fete no fun for CIOs
It won't be the champagne giving federal chief information officers a headache at New Year's. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to partake in a threeday millennium extravaganza scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., adding a logistical challenge to federal CIOs' Year 2000 problems
Digital Government
Opening the 64-bit data pipeline
In most aspects of computing, bigger, faster and more is better: Faster clock and network speeds, more RAM and bigger hard disk drives are all benchmarks by which we measure the pace of computing progress.
Digital Government
Web Site Provides a Clearinghouse for Tobacco Data
A World Wide Web site unveiled Thursday will enable users to conduct searches of more than 27 million tobacco industry documents from one centralized source. Donna Shalala, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made the announcement in conjunction with the Great American Smokeout.
Digital Government
Chicago mayor Richard Daley revealed his Year 2000 strategy
Flanked by representatives from key city agencies, Chicago mayor Richard Daley revealed his Year 2000 strategy Thursday at a news conference at the city's Y2K Command Center.
Digital Government
Web site enables users to search more than 27 million tobacco industry documents
A World Wide Web site unveiled Thursday will enable users to conduct searches of more than 27 million tobacco industry documents from one centralized source. Donna Shalala, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made the announcement in conjunction with the Great American Smokeout.
Digital Government
Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander launched e-Texas
Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander on Tuesday launched eTexas, a commission that will oversee 14 separate task forces charged with finding new ways to use technology to streamline government services.
Digital Government
Cancer Institute Revamps Web Site
The National Cancer Institute unveiled its redesigned CancerNet World Wide Web site today, with easier navigation and enhancements for firsttime users, including an expanded dictionary of cancer terms and a publications locator.
Digital Government