Selected links to items posted on the Internet during the week ending May 31, 2024

Affordable Housing: How Small Is Too Small? The movement to build tiny houses has gotten a lot of attention, but it hasn’t gained much traction in the market. Still, there may be some applications for homes of just a few hundred square feet. READ MORE

 

CA Legislation Would Create AI Risk Standard, Research Hub Two bills related to artificial intelligence governance were passed in the California state Senate on Thursday with unanimous support. Now, Senate bills 892 and 893 will head to the Assembly. READ MORE

 

Can AI and Other Tech Ease Public Safety Workforce Woes? Police departments and emergency dispatch centers need more workers. Gov tech suppliers are rushing to the rescue, promising new software, data integration and other tools to make up for vacant positions. READ MORE

 

Can AI Help Agencies Save Money on Traffic Studies? As agencies get more comfortable with new ways of analyzing data, UrbanLogiq is betting officials will prefer AI-powered tools over typical traffic-counting methods. Already one city has started using such a product. READ MORE

 

ChargePoint Teams With Airbnb for EV Chargers at Rentals Like swimming pools, or full kitchens, electric vehicle charging is just one more perk that travelers are looking for when they book their vacation rentals. READ MORE

 

CivicPlus Makes a Deal With Nextdoor for Hyper-Local Alerts The deal brings together a gov tech firm that focuses on local governments and an app that neighbors use to keep track of what’s going on. CivicPlus says the integration will boost civic engagement. READ MORE

 

Colorado Springs Chatbot Is Powered by AI, City Data AskCOS, the city of Colorado Springs’ new artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot, was trained using Colorado city government information alone. The virtual assistant can answer constituent questions in 71 languages. READ MORE

 

Cyber Attack Forces Michigan Hospitals to Use Paperwork A cyberattack against Michigan Ascension hospitals continues to cause issues, forcing it to divert some ambulances to other hospitals for certain medical issues, delay diagnostic imaging and is affecting its ability to fill prescriptions. READ MORE

 

Federal Agency Warns Water Utilities Against Cyber Attacks The Environmental Protection Agency has warned against hackers affiliated with Iran and China who could sabotage drinking and wastewater resources — attacks it said are increasing in severity and frequency. READ MORE

 

Feds Provide Grants for Safer Streets to Nearly 3/4 of the U.S. Population The U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded Safe Streets for All grants to 99 communities this month. The grants help fund planning and demonstration projects to reduce dangerous conflicts between road users. READ MORE

 

Florida’s New Office of Ocean Economy Seeks to Spur Discovery The new state department will be housed at Florida Atlantic University. It seeks to harness public and private research, education, technology and business applications involving fresh and salt water. READ MORE

 

Georgia to Scrap New Campaign Reporting System and Start Over After spending an estimated $1.5 million on a new and “improved” e-filing system just a few years ago, the executive secretary of the Georgia Ethics Commission is again requesting proposals for a new system. READ MORE

 

Hawaii May Allow Homeless to Be Assessed Involuntarily Proposed legislation would allow homeless people displaying mental health issues to be taken to a behavioral center against their will for assessment. READ MORE

 

How California’s Gas Vehicle Ban Will Impact the Nation Just two years after California announced its strict new vehicle emission goals, eight other states have followed its lead. But many aren’t sure that the Golden State will hit its goals, or if the state should be the nation’s model. READ MORE

 

How Cyber Volunteers Help Protect Nonprofits and Local Govt University-based cybersecurity clinics are enabling students to offer basic cyber services to local governments, hospitals, nonprofits and other groups with limited resources for the work. READ MORE

 

How Safe Are New Jersey School Buses? Four in 10 school buses in New Jersey failed initial inspections, according to an analysis of 22 months of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission records. Nearly 6,000 inspections led to buses being taken off the road. READ MORE

 

Hundreds of New EV Chargers Planned for Oakland, Calif. Although the chargers are part of several different projects, the result is slated to be the development of hundreds of new electric vehicle charging ports in and around Oakland, Calif. READ MORE

 

Illinois Paid IT Training Program Sees Overwhelming Demand The Illinois IT Trainee Program, offering full-time paid training and a competitive salary, has snagged the attention of aspiring tech professionals, with thousands of people vying for a handful of positions. READ MORE

 

Inside the ‘Space Race’ to Combat Wildfires Private and government organizations are looking for ways to use technology, including networks of satellites, to improve anticipation and prevention of wildfire activity. READ MORE

 

Los Angeles City Council Cuts Budget Without Layoffs The council passed a $12.8 billion budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which is approximately 2 percent less than the current fiscal year’s budget. The city will eliminate 1,700 vacant jobs next fiscal year. READ MORE

 

Low-Wage States With Cheap Housing Dominate Post-Pandemic Jobs Boom Over the last five years, half the nation’s jobs were created in Texas and Florida. California and New York fell to the bottom of the heap, according to a Stateline analysis. READ MORE

 

Meet TritonGPT: AI That Loves Tedious University TasksUC San Diego's TritonGPT, a suite of AI assistants built in-house for data control and cost savings, is writing job descriptions and helping with grant accounting. It's part of UCSD's strategy for handling the mundane. READ MORE

 

Memphis Is Nation's Deadliest City for Pedestrians A new report tracked pedestrian fatality rates in the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Almost all of them are becoming more dangerous. READ MORE

 

N.J. School Data Breach May Have Exposed Student Names, SSNs Shore Regional High School District in New Jersey recently found that network intruders may have removed a file in April 2023 containing student names, social security numbers, financial information and other private records. READ MORE

 

Navigating the AI Revolution: The Global Battle for Tech Supremacy Artificial intelligence is yielding unprecedented benefits, battles, opportunities and fears — and advancing faster than ever. What is the latest on the global AI landscape? READ MORE

 

New Open Source Initiative Highlights Flaws in State Government Websites The assessment and educational tool offers insights and solutions for improving government web performance. Based on its criteria, many state and federal agencies have updated their sites. READ MORE

 

NSBA 2024: One Technology Initiative Lays Groundwork for the Next Schools that had already embraced the imperatives of Internet access, digital literacy and 1:1 device plans fared better for it during the pandemic. AI could be a similarly urgent pragmatic concern. READ MORE

 

NYC Schools Plan for Smaller Class Sizes, More Remote Learning The city’s Education Department has directed districts to increase their share of classes in compliance with a reduced size plan by 3 percent. Superintendents can require schools to meet individual targets. READ MORE

 

Report Card: How Satisfied Are People With State Services? A survey of more than 14,000 people who have used state government services recently reveals where state governments excel in customer service and where they fall short. Overall, websites scored higher than mobile applications in terms of user satisfaction. READ MORE

 

Revolutionizing Digital Identity Verification Discover the latest trends in digital identity and fraud prevention. Get the comprehensive study now. ACCESS THE FULL REPORT

 

San Antonio Cybersecurity School Offers Paid Training Unlike some other companies, NukuDo, which operates the school, pays students $4,000 a month during their training. The agreement is that upon course completion, they must work where it places them for three years. READ MORE

 

States Should Think Beyond Mobile Drivers' Licenses for Digital Identity Other forms of digital ID will also be important for serving constituents online and preventing fraud. READ MORE

 

Strategic Budgeting: Connecting Goals, to Action, to Community Impact with Tech To meet the evolving needs of your community, your agency’s strategic plan needs to be actionable and align strategy with the budget  Discover How to Implement Strategic Budgeting

 

Strengthening Digital Identity and Preventing Fraud Research shows most people prefer online interactions with state agencies, but worry about identity fraud. This paper offers solutions. DOWNLOAD

 

The Future of Digital Identity in 2024 Explore how state agencies verify identities and prevent fraud online. Gain insights from our research. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

 

The Power of Simple for Government Read this brief to find out how applying cloud operating principles and practices to on-premises network infrastructure can help agencies manage complex IT environments. DOWNLOAD

 

Trolls and Their Tolls on Social Media Communicators This eBook from CivicPlus offers strategies for dealing with online trolls and guidance on how social media communicators can keep the peace on their websites without restricting free expression and meaningful and productive conversations. DOWNLOAD

 

Unions’ Recent Organizing Success Draws Political Pushback Unions have recently enjoyed some success in both recruitment and labor actions. They now face resistance from lawmakers in red states, particularly in the South. READ MORE

 

Utility to Invest $16B to Upgrade New York Electric Grid The electricity company National Grid will invest billions over the next five years in an effort to achieve the state’s climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. READ MORE

 

Webinar: Adapting GPT-4o for Safe Government Each new OpenAI model brings a big leap in capabilities… and big risks for government users? Join us to learn how to protect yourself and your team. SEE DETAILS & REGISTER

 

What’s New in Digital Equity: Colorado Broadband Laws Signed Plus, the FCC is updating its broadband data collection process, Texas has launched a dashboard on public library Internet speeds, Louisiana is offering online skills training, and more. READ MORE