Modernization
California, Boston win awards for best government websites
Portals run by the state of California and the city of Boston were tops among municipal Web sites in a recent "Best of the Web" competition.
Digital Government
Cops, collection agencies turn to data analytics
Some state and local agencies are turning to business analytics software to help fight crime and collect taxes and other payments.
Digital Government
HHS distributes $20M to rural hospitals for health IT
The Health and Human Services Department has announced $20 million in additional economic stimulus law grants to help rural hospitals install electronic health record systems.
Digital Government
Can we fight cyber crime like the Untouchables fought Capone?
Recent successful legal action against the Waledac botnet offers some hope that lawyers might succeed where technology has failed in the war against cyber crime.
Digital Government
Google Apps government reach grows
Google's cloud-based software suite is making inroads with federal and local government agencies.
Modernization
A cost of consolidation?
Agency officials looking to consolidate their technology operations might want to refactor the risks after the recent meltdown of services in Virginia.
Digital Government
Muslims in the U.S.: Reader comments and further reflections
Blogger Steve Kelman responds to readers who commented on his recent blog post about Muslims who feel unwelcome in the United States.
People
Collaboration project will share code for government apps
The District of Columbia and nonprofit groups debut the Civic Commons organization to enable federal, state and local government to share open-source code.
Digital Government
State, local education agencies flunk stimulus law transparency tests
GAO found only 9 percent of the spending descriptions fully met the law's transparency criteria, such as for clear and complete information.
Modernization
5 ways to use social media for better emergency response
More people now use social media tools to report emergencies or call for help, and they expect government response agencies to be actively engaged in using the technology, too.
Digital Government
Former New Orleans mayor wasted money with outsourcing, IG says
Inspector general faults former Mayor Ray Nagin for outsourcing technology that increased the costs of recovery after Hurricane Katrina.
Digital Government
Public service on display at the Griffith Observatory
Blogger Steve Kelman is impressed with what he finds when he visits a former student who is now deputy director of the Los Angeles observatory.
Digital Government
Feds remember Hurricane Katrina
Five years ago, the hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and feds arrived soon after to help with cleanup. Now an employee union wants to hear those stories.
Digital Government
Which state is the first deploy a mass mobile alerting system?
The new system – which sends text messages to mobile phones - can target specific geographic areas, which could be as large as a city or as small as a few blocks.
Digital Government
River Walk and the Internet: Some speculation on government investments
Steve Kelman speculates that the government's role in making risky investments pays off well.
Digital Government
Bedbugs invade file cabinets at SSA offices
The Social Security Administration offices in Queens, N.Y., are under siege from bedbugs.
Digital Government
Five years after Katrina, government IT still feels storm's fury
Five years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, the region continues to rebuild and the federal government is still trying to fix information technology-related problems that the storm and its aftermath exposed.
Digital Government
State, local health IT spending projected to be $10B by 2015
Spending on state and local health information technology systems is expected to rise by 19 percent during the next five years, according to market research firm Input Inc.
People
California starts statewide telehealth network
The California Telehealth Network will link 800 facilities statewide.
People