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Colin Wood

Staff Writer


Colin has been writing for Government Technology since 2010. He lives in Seattle with his wife and their dog. He can be reached at cwood@govtech.com and on Google+.

Colin Wood

RECENT ARTICLES

February 25, 2015

California Public Sector CIO Academy Recognizes Top IT Leaders

The annual awards ceremony recognized achievements of the greatest public IT leaders in one of the largest and most influential economies in the nation.
February 23, 2015

Feds' Adoption of Apple Pay, Dwolla Solidifies the Technologies as Mainstays

A new generation of payment technologies could help transform the federal government's image while simultaneously protecting sensitive consumer data.

February 18, 2015

Online Jury Reporting Increases Participation, Saves Citizens Time and Angst

Lubbock County, Texas, is one of many counties in the state that allows citizens to report for jury duty without heading down to the courthouse.
February 13, 2015

Cybersecurity Summit: Obama, Apple CEO Announce Private-Public Integration

The White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection highlighted the state of increasing cyber threats and news of cooperation that spans sectors in the form of an information-sharing order.
February 11, 2015

New LAPD Program Seeks to Dethrone City as King of Hit-and-Runs

A new alert system will pit the efforts of the police, the private sector, the city and the public against one of Los Angeles' bloody problems.
February 9, 2015

Can Open Government Be Too Open?

A new rash of public records requests in Washington state have the public and members of the open data movement divided on just how open government should be.
February 9, 2015

What Does Amazon's New Cloud Email Offering Mean for Government?

WorkMail, the latest addition to Amazon Web Services' suite of cloud tools, is not marketed to public-sector clients -- but it may have everything government needs.
February 4, 2015

Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative Comes Into Focus

A $215 million investment is expected to expand personalized medicine and accelerate biomedical discoveries.
February 3, 2015

Texas CISO Brian Engle Departs for Cybersecurity Nonprofit

The past two years have been transformative for cyber-operations in Texas, Engle said.
February 2, 2015

Nation's Libraries to Explore New Boundaries of Digital Innovation

The Knight Foundation has awarded $3 million to 22 libraries for projects and tools that will improve access to information, preserve history and leverage open government data.
January 29, 2015

Smart Guns: How Close Are We Really?

The Seattle Smart Gun Symposium revealed an ambitious community of technologists seeking to take on the feverish front known as the American gun owner, and unveiled more questions than answers.
January 28, 2015

Arkansas Gets Renewed Tech Focus

CTO Mark Myers will work hard to fuel his department as the technology engine that drives economic development and education in the state.
January 28, 2015

California's Central Valley Economy Hurt by Broadband Gaps

The state, local governments and colleges are partnering to identify exactly where the gaps exist.
January 26, 2015

Self-Driving Vehicles May Not Be So Safe

A new research paper documents a number of limitations and barriers to the potential road safety of self-driving vehicles.
January 23, 2015

How Are Police Departments Using License Plate Reader Data?

The Oakland, Calif., Police Department has released its license plate reader data, which reveals a lot -- but it's tough to understand what it all means.
January 21, 2015

Arkansas Hit By Malware, Many Senate Websites Down

This Wednesday brought some government website hiccups.
January 21, 2015

Microsoft Unveils (the Free) Windows 10

Microsoft's newest operating system is being designed for a new technological landscape, and will be offered as a free upgrade during the first year after launch.
January 20, 2015

Obama Squeezes a (Very) Little Tech into State of the Union

The president primarily touted middle-class economics and called for parties to cooperate in this year's addressing, making mere mentions of technology plans and proposals.
January 16, 2015

Davis, Calif., Reviews 45-Acre Innovation District

Davis is looking to replace fields of wheat with homes and work spaces for a new generation of technologists.
January 12, 2015

Could Better Health Be all in the Wrist?

Doctors aren’t necessarily clamoring for patients’ Fitbit data, but wearable technology may just be poised to transform medicine.
January 12, 2015

San Francisco Supports Startup Economy With Simplified Business Portal

In San Francisco's new business portal, launched in November, the citizen is made central to the business formation process -- not the government.
January 9, 2015

New York City Launches City-Specific ID Card

NYC is joining a small group of municipalities offering city identification cards to its residents.
January 9, 2015

Michigan Pilots Online Identification Tool to Fight Fraud

The state is testing a new authentication system developed by NIST and LexisNexis that simplifies how people apply for benefits and other government services while saving taxpayer dollars. But privacy and civil rights advocates have concerns.
January 8, 2015

Pittsburgh to Take Holistic, Regional, Granular Approach to Open Data

With a $1.8 million open data grant, the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County plan to harness data that informs business processes and decision-making on a daily basis.
December 22, 2014

Seattle Police Hackathon Tackles Video Transparency

The Seattle Police Department is leading the nation in police transparency -- with a little help from the public.
December 15, 2014

Iowa's Driver's License App to be Tested in 2015

The Iowa Department of Transportation expects to have a working prototype within six months.
December 11, 2014

Open Data Visualization Tool Challenges Traditional GIS

Former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will work with municipalities to show how DriveDecisions can combine open data, visualize it and improve decision-making.
December 9, 2014

Former Arkansas CTO Claire Bailey Continues at Compuware

Bailey said she looks forward to helping all levels of government maximize their assets through her new position in the private sector.
December 8, 2014

Miguel Gamino Appointed San Francisco's Permanent CIO

The city's acting CIO loses his "acting" title, and looks forward to developing more public Wi-Fi and changing the organization's service culture.
December 8, 2014

Virginia DOT Shows What Visual Data Can Do

An award-winning prototype from a team at the Virginia Department of Transportation shows how emerging tools are bringing data closer to the people who need it.
December 1, 2014

Internet-Connected Things Will Soon Outnumber People

The growing Internet of Things brings new opportunities and challenges.
November 25, 2014

Anonymous 'Requester' Turns Police Body Camera Programs Upside Down

As citizens nationwide protest following the no-indict ruling in the Ferguson, Mo., shooting, police in Washington state wonder if their public records laws will prevent the adoption of body camera technology that could keep such a confusing scenario from happening again.
November 24, 2014

Product Review: Ello Takes on Social Networking

An early look at social media's rising star reveals user interface design so good, it might convince me not to hate everyone.
November 14, 2014

Philadelphia Uses GIS to Increase Playability, Enhance Children's Lives

A pro-bono design collaborative in Philadelphia is using GIS analysis to improve the success rate of its projects that are aimed at bettering the lives of children in the area.
November 14, 2014

Innovation: It Isn't for Everyone

A new paper shows that innovation isn't a solution, but another project that not everyone is ready to manage.
November 13, 2014

Boston Hires First Chief Digital Officer

Twenty-eight-year-old Lauren Lockwood will lead the city's digital efforts.
November 13, 2014

2014 Digital Cities: Winners Focus on Innovation, Boosting Transparency and Privacy

In this year's Digital Cities Survey, top cities recognize the value of technology, empower their tech leaders and use new ideas to make life better for everyone who lives there.
November 12, 2014

Is Microsoft’s Newest Security Flaw the Next Heartbleed?

Microsoft's recent patch fixed a vulnerability that sat in the open for almost two decades.
November 11, 2014

Are Voting Website Outages a Sign of Bigger Problems?

Last week, service was disrupted for 18 voting information websites serving citizens around the nation this midterm election. But the nation may have bigger problems when it comes to voting technology.
November 10, 2014

Ambulance Drones May Save Lives

Will heart attack victims one day see their savior fly in on four small propellers?
November 6, 2014

Los Angeles Announces $1 Million Innovation Fund

For Los Angeles, innovation won't live in just one office – it is being democratized across the city in an effort to improve operations.
November 3, 2014

Seattle Launches Data Privacy Initiative

The city will re-examine how it uses, retains and deletes data across all departments, while “engaging with privacy leaders in Seattle.”
November 3, 2014

Smart Cities: Understanding the Untapped Value of Sensor Data

Technology leaders in three cities imagine how they would harness Chicago’s innovative sensor pilot in their communities.
October 30, 2014

3 Technologies that Could Boost Voter Participation

Next week's election may have one of the lowest voter turnouts ever. Can technology help boost voter participation? Here are three possible answers.
October 28, 2014

Social Media’s Next Frontier

Your organization is on Facebook and Twitter — now what?
October 28, 2014

2014 Cybersecurity Awards: Winners Succeed in a Growing Threat Landscape

Winners of the 2014 Cybersecurity Leadership and Innovation Awards have demonstrated they are serious about cybersecurity defense by putting into place systems, practices and policies that keep information safe for citizens.
October 23, 2014

Succession Planning: Why IT Leaders Should Groom Their Replacements

To avoid a disruption when Corpus Christi, Texas, CIO Michael Armstrong retires, his successor is being trained before his departure -- and in 2015, Michigan plans to launch a leadership academy program to groom internal talent.
October 22, 2014

New Seattle CISO Talks Data Security Agility, Adaptability

Seattle's acting CISO was hired in a permanent capacity, and says that when it comes to data security, the government's responsibilities increasingly align with those of the private sector.
October 22, 2014

Next Century Cities: 32 Cities Form Broadband Collective

Through Next Century Cities, leaders will gain opportunities to work with partner cities, share knowledge and assist in development of next-generation broadband networks.
October 20, 2014

North Carolina Works to Revamp its Web Presence, Foster Innovation

As more governments focus on digital service adoption, the state's first chief digital officer is guiding the state toward more user-centric online design.
October 17, 2014

Three Connecticut Cities Pursue Gigabit Network

When it comes to high-speed broadband, meeting demand isn’t always in the incumbent's business model -- so Connecticut is taking matters into its own hands.
October 16, 2014

Apple's iPad Air 2: Faster, Thinner, But Maybe Not Enticing Enough

Apple's keynote brought new iterations of the iPad Air and iPad mini to market, but it may not be enough to drive continued growth in the market.
October 14, 2014

Texas CIO Karen Robinson Announces Retirement

Robinson announced her departure in an internal email, in which she called her time at DIR “intense and challenging.”
October 14, 2014

North Carolina IT Takes Control of State Data

Now seven years old, the state's Government Data Analytics Center is entering a new phase of life.
October 13, 2014

North Kansas City, Mo., Opens Gigabit Network to Public

After a decade of serving local businesses, the city is releasing business operation of its gigabit network to a private company.
October 9, 2014

New Delaware CIO Talks Service Delivery and Collaboration

Following the departure of James Sills, Delaware found a replacement in James Collins.
October 7, 2014

The Best Government Websites for 2014

Our annual Best of the Web contest ranks these 32 state and local websites as leaders in digital information and services.
October 2, 2014

The Importance of Cybersecurity in the Age of the Cloud and Internet of Things

Cyberattackers aren’t invincible, but you probably need to rethink security.
October 1, 2014

SF Launches #SFWiFi in 32 Public Spaces

14 months in, Google's gift begat free public Wi-Fi.
September 29, 2014

Missouri Shares Data with Healthy Results

After 10 years of inter-agency data sharing, state officials say they've finally cracked the code, saving millions and improving the health of the mentally ill.
September 26, 2014

Hawaii.gov Gamified to Drive Up Adoption

Through gamification, Hawaii is taking user experience seriously.
September 25, 2014

Los Angeles Launches Civic Innovation Lab

The city hopes to leverage public knowledge and enthusiasm to identify and solve key local problems using data available from its open data portal.
September 24, 2014

Are You Prepared to Migrate Off Windows Server 2003?

Microsoft will drop support for Server 2003 in just under 10 months, potentially affecting 24 million servers.
September 19, 2014

FirstNet Makes Progress, Consults with Maryland

The meeting will be followed by discussions in other states as FirstNet determines what a nationwide first responder communications network should look like.
September 17, 2014

Seattle's New CTO Focuses on People, Infrastructure, Broadband Access for All

Michael Mattmiller says Seattle is keeping its options open when it comes to high-speed Internet.
September 15, 2014

Atlanta IT Requires New Foundation Before Innovation Can Occur

Atlanta CIO Samir Saini says that right now, the IT priority in the city is to make sure its infrastructure can support what it has today, and also can scale to support future solutions like citizen-facing applications.
September 9, 2014

New York City Announces Inaugural CTO

At the 10th annual NY Tech Meetup, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Minerva Tantoco will be the city's first chief technology officer.
September 9, 2014

2014 Best of New York Awards Recognize Top IT Leaders, Projects

Forty New York public-sector leaders, agencies and departments were honored for technology excellence at the 2014 New York Digital Government Summit held in Albany.
September 5, 2014

HealthCare.gov Breached, No Data Stolen

The healthcare portal used by more than 5 million Americans continues to have growing pains.
September 4, 2014

What Difference Does an 18-Minute Facebook Outage Make?

How can a website going offline for just a few minutes affect the world?
September 4, 2014

I'm Stuck: Using Crowdsourcing to Persuade Lawmakers to Invest in Infrastructure

Enough activity on the I'm Stuck app -- the data from which is mapped -- likely will have an impact on national infrastructure.
September 2, 2014

Which States Have the Best Technology?

The 2014 Digital States Survey grades states on how well they use technology to serve their citizens.
September 2, 2014

Cash Injection Fuels Next Phase for Code for America Alum MindMixer

CEO Nick Bowden says the novelty of his product is wearing off and it's time to expand.
August 26, 2014

Open Health Data Allows Comparison of Cost, Quality

A recent revamp of federal health-care reporting software is poised for widespread adoption at the state level, officials say.
August 25, 2014

Massachusetts Competition Challenges Startups to Innovate

Rather than challenge individuals to look at data, MassIT's Government Innovation Competition challenges startups to look at the big picture.
August 25, 2014

California Enacts Mobile Device Kill-Switch Requirement

For some, the battle in California is won, but a national debate is ahead.
August 25, 2014

Napa Earthquake Highlights California's Need for Early Warning System

Researchers keep warning about the need for an early warning system while the project remains under-funded.
August 21, 2014

Munirent Brings the Sharing Economy to Government

A new service could bring the benefits of the sharing economy to public works departments around the nation.
August 21, 2014

Abhi Nemani Talks Open Data in Los Angeles

The city's new chief data officer wants to use data as a platform for developing solutions that benefit citizens, business and government.
August 19, 2014

FINDER Senses Heartbeats Amid Rubble

The new device can detect minute movements and could save lives in the next large-scale disaster.
August 18, 2014

Local Governments Open Data with Performance Dashboard

Pushed through Code for America's 2012 Accelerator, Revelstone is offering municipalities a chance to monitor operations and build public trust with its Public Performance Dashboard.
August 18, 2014

Report Ranks Top Open Data States

Six states earn top rankings for their open data policies and portals -- and eight states are at the bottom.
August 15, 2014

Can Open Data Find a Business Model?

Leaders in Chicago, Pasadena and Riverside talk about launching and maintaining open data initiatives.
August 13, 2014

Will You Soon be Training your Robot Replacement?

From drone fleet engineers to autonomous vehicle managers, new, specialized roles will take the place of many traditional public-sector jobs.
August 11, 2014

Maryland's Statewide Hackathon Reclaims the Bay

The state fed the participants environmental data, and then watched smart and creative people "do their thing."

August 8, 2014

San Francisco Parks Wi-Fi to Launch in September

Following a donation from Google last year, San Francisco is planning to announce Wi-Fi service in public parks and facilities across the city next month.
August 4, 2014

Mesquite, Nevada, Opts for All-in-One Upgrade

By replacing its aging storage area network, the city was able to improve performance by 25 percent and save significantly on the cost for new storage capacity.
August 1, 2014

What Does the Future Hold for Tesla Motors?

Tesla is gaining momentum as it plans a gigantic battery factory and a mid-range offering, but states remain uncertain about whether its direct sales model is good for consumers.
July 30, 2014

Los Angeles: The Beginning of Nationwide Wi-Fi?

In a response to a Los Angeles RFI for citywide broadband, Dutch start up Angie Communications said it would also build and operate a nationwide 4G network and a Wi-Fi network that reaches 90 percent of the population. But some are skeptical of the ambitious plan.

July 29, 2014

State and Local Govs Not Ready For Mobile, Survey Says

One of the hottest trends in government has most state and local agencies caught off-guard, according to a new survey.
July 29, 2014

Michigan CSO Dan Lohrmann Leaves Government

A fixture in Michigan state government for the past 17 years, Lohrmann has been a leading voice on cybersecurity in the public sector.
July 28, 2014

FirstNet Begins State Consultations

The First Responder Network Authority's first in-person consultation is with Maryland on July 29, and the authority anticipates releasing a draft RFP before March 2015.
July 25, 2014

Does the World Wide Web Really Need Websites?

Government transparency and engagement efforts often fall short, and the growing wave of mobility has some IT leaders rethinking how they deliver content online.
July 24, 2014

Pennsylvania's Data Center Cloud Deal Has Big Potential

The scale of the $681 million cloud agreement with Unisys goes well beyond what most states attempt to do at once, and could be the wave of the future.
July 21, 2014

How Will Jennifer Pahlka's Year with the Feds Impact Code for America Operations?

After serving as U.S. deputy chief technology officer, CfA's founder and executive director says in this Q&A that she's focused on creating a government that works for the people and by the people in the 21st century.
July 18, 2014

ARPA-E: Turning Innovative Ideas into Infrastructure that Powers the Nation

The primary limitation of today’s energy grid is that it was conceived and developed in an era that had not envisioned a future powered by the sun, the wind and data. ARPA-E projects aim to fix that.
July 17, 2014

Facial Recognition for Pets Could Help Cities Save Furry Lives

Facial recognition is an emerging technology typically fraught with controversy, but most seem to agree that for animals, there's nothing but potential.
July 11, 2014

Florida: Using Big Data to Help Little People

The state's Department of Children and Families has identified what the highest-risk children look like on paper, and is using their profiles to best determine how to ensure their health and safety.
July 10, 2014

Electronics-Sniffing Dogs Used by Connecticut, Rhode Island Police

Dogs that undergo training in an innovative program led by Connecticut State Police prove their value.
July 10, 2014

2014 Digital Counties Survey Winners Announced

Hundreds participated in the 12th annual survey, and the top-ranked counties will be honored at a reception during the 2014 National Association of Counties annual conference starting July 11.
July 8, 2014

Riverside, Calif., Launches Transparency and Engagement Portal, Rethinks Procurement

The city announced today the launch of a new open data portal as it rethinks what it means to be transparent.
July 8, 2014

Code Inspection Photo App Saves City 1,500 Hours per Year

The technology services department in Independence, Mo., developed an app for code inspection that increased productivity by 20 percent.
July 7, 2014

Solar, Wi-Fi-Enabled Water Wheel Pulls Trash From Baltimore's Inner Harbor

A new environmental project in Baltimore demonstrates the challenges faced by government, the private sector and the public when they collaborated to accomplish a common goal.
July 2, 2014

New Boston CIO Talks Open Data, Engagement and Access

Blue State Digital founder Jascha Franklin-Hodge outlines his tech priorities for the city.
July 1, 2014

Indiana's Interactive Map Plots Meth Lab Data

A new online tool from the Indiana State Police gives prospective property renters and buyers a chance to see if their new home was once part of the state's biggest problem.
June 30, 2014

Are We Truly Ready for Government to Use Biometric Identifiers?

If biometrics can improve security or accelerate travel times, most citizens will welcome it, a new survey says.
June 27, 2014

Homeless Shower Bus Launches in San Francisco

After two years of planning, donations and fanfare, the mobile shower service from Lava Mae is launching regular service as cities around the world watch.
June 26, 2014

Dashboard Shows California's Huge Social Media Footprint

Online dashboard tracks hundreds of accounts, thousands of tweets and shows millions of Facebook likes.
June 25, 2014

Gainesville, Fla., Publishes Mayor's, Commissioners' Emails in Searchable Database

A new website is saving one Florida city time and money while achieving the oft-cited goal of government transparency.
June 22, 2014

Behind the Scenes: Code for America Does Denver

As CfA opens enrollment for the 2015 fellowship class -- and approaches its fifth anniversary -- CfA Fellow Becky Boone gives an inside look at the organization's work in the Mile High City.
June 19, 2014

San Francisco CIO Leaves for World Health Organization

Marc Touitou will ply his trade as CIO in Geneva, the city announced via Twitter.
June 18, 2014

Can Cities Wait Until 2084 for Google Fiber? (Interactive Map)

As customer satisfaction dips to an all-time low, new competitors force a breaking point in American broadband.
June 18, 2014

Los Angeles County Launching Microsoft Cloud for 100,000 Workers

En Pointe Technologies has been awarded one of the largest state or local Microsoft 365 contracts ever written.
June 17, 2014

Advancing Texas IT at the State and Local Level

Texas Parks & Wildlife veteran Bridget Wolf received the award for Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management as part of the 13th annual Best of Texas Awards.
June 17, 2014

Public-Sector, Industry Answer: What Would You Change About Government?

Governments could improve by pushing more information to constituents, entering into strategic partnerships with industry more easily and cooperating more broadly for the betterment of society, to name a few things.
June 16, 2014

Larry Temple's Efficiency and Savings Net Bob Bullock Public Service Award

Texas Workforce Commission Executive Director Larry Temple received the 17th annual Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship.
June 16, 2014

San Jose, Calif., Looks to Internet of Things to Reduce Traffic, Pollution

The city of San Jose and Intel have announced a Smart America partnership that will help the city discover how new sensor data can improve the community.
June 13, 2014

5 Cities Host Fishackathon

Led by the U.S. Department of State, developers in five cities will work concurrently to find solutions to sustainability problems facing international fisheries.
June 10, 2014

NYC's New Tech Czar Says City is Poised for Innovation

For the Big Apple's new technology commissioner, it's not the technology that counts, but how you use it.
June 5, 2014

Safe to Swim? New County Webpage Alerts Public

The Hennepin County, Minn., Environmental Health Department website streamlines processes and uses interactive GiS mapping feature to let swimmers know if their favorite beaches are open.
June 4, 2014

Kansas Hopes Broadband Initiative WIll Boost Availability, Service

After nearly four years of data collection, research and analysis, the project is expected to provide local governments with valuable information about expanding digital infrastructure -- without interfering with the marketplace.
June 2, 2014

Rethinking Privacy: Though Technology has Outpaced Policy, That's No Reason to Give Up

Privacy is almost universally valued by humanity, but technology is advancing so quickly that people haven’t had time to settle on a useful definition for the word -- let alone a solution that everyone can live with.
May 30, 2014

Eight Governors Sign Electric Vehicle Promotion Pact

Agreement could boost deployment of charging stations and other EV infrastructure.
May 30, 2014

Meet the First Public-Sector Chief Electric Vehicle Officer in the Nation

The Oregon Department of Transportation's Ashley Horvat promotes an emerging form of transportation to meet the state's economic goals.
May 30, 2014

Salesforce Meets FedRAMP Compliance for Saas, PaaS

Just in time for federal agencies' deadline to meet a new set of cloud security standards, Salesforce announced today that its cloud offerings are Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program-ready.
May 28, 2014

Could Smart Power Lines Reduce Outages?

Wind moving through power lines can ultimately lead to damaged infrastructure and power outages, but placing accelerometers on the lines could help reduce the risk of mechanical failure.
May 23, 2014

Identity Crisis

States are tightening verification, the feds are funding pilots and privacy advocates are worried.
May 22, 2014

Google’s GovDev Challenge Provides Real Solutions for Government

The tech giant's first government hackathon is over, and according to at least one CIO, the event was a great success.
May 22, 2014

L.A.’s Cyber Intrusion Command Center: A Model for Cybersecurity Governance?

IT governance and cybersecurity are two of the most critical issues in government, which is why Los Angeles is combining them in its new cyber command center.
May 21, 2014

Michigan's Simulated City Will Test Car Crash Situations

The Michigan Mobility Transformation Center will be built like a movie set and feature mechanized pedestrians, construction areas and other obstacles to test new technologies that could save lives on the road.
May 16, 2014

Davenport, Iowa, Eyes Expanding its Fiber Network to Citizens

A city-run fiber network saves Davenport hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, and now officials are going to take a run at expanding that service to citizens.
May 14, 2014

Welcome to the New Wisconsin.gov

In its first redesign in more than 10 years, the new Wisconsin.gov portal puts the user first.
May 13, 2014

Student Workers Replace Retiring IT Staff in Los Angeles

As the City of Angels prepares to lose 60 percent of its IT staff within the next five years, management looks for new ways to fill the gap.
May 12, 2014

Teri Takai Talks DoD, FirstNet

The CIO looks back at her stint with the Department of Defense and talks about the challenges facing the nationwide communications network for first responders.
May 12, 2014

Baltimore Maps Gallery Plots Traffic Cameras, Tree Canopies

The city's gallery of maps lets citizens plan a bike route with flat or steep terrain through the city, find a legislative district, and view trash and recycling days, among other things.
May 9, 2014

Is Twitter the New Telephone?

A Seattle resident recently tweeted the local police department to make a records request, just one event in a string of public devotion to the platform.
May 6, 2014

Driver’s License for the Internet: an Optional Tool?

The term “driver’s license” is only useful if people are thinking of it as an optional authentication tool, not as a permit to do something -- and one official says it is absolutely not to create a government-run online identity scheme.
May 5, 2014

Utah's Struggling Network Buyout Deal Is Advancing

The first version of a proposal announced last year was released by Australian investment group Macquarie Capital, giving hope to UTOPIA supporters.
April 29, 2014

Mexico Battle-Tested Early Warning System with 7.2 Quake

Can the Seismic Alert System of Mexico serve as an earthquake early warning system model for the whole world?
April 29, 2014

Data Governance: The Public Sector’s Next Big Frontier

Managing and organizing data is the next phase of state and local government's hopeful metamorphosis.
April 28, 2014

Does Kenya's National Broadband Strategy Position it for Second-World Status?

The strategy is a keystone of the nation’s ambitious Vision 2030 program, which “aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens,” by 2030, by focusing on economic, social and political reforms.
April 25, 2014

Oregon Abandons State HIX, Failure Was Obvious From the Start

After months of struggle and trying to make it work, the failing and costly IT project will be abandoned as the state takes cover under the wing of the federal exchange.
April 25, 2014

Are You Ready for a Driver’s License for the Internet?

The White House is leading efforts for a new authentication system that would have users prove their identity with a single ID across the Web. And states are starting to pilot the system.
April 24, 2014

Colorado and Wyoming Join Google for GovDev Challenge

Google's first hackathon in Denver aims to get developers to think about public-sector problems.
April 23, 2014

Social Media Listening Improves Customer Service in S.C.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services hired the Social Analytics Institute to find people who were talking about its Medicaid services online so the agency could benchmark its performance.
April 22, 2014

New Email Program Brings More Tips to Minnesota County

As a way to boost public engagement, the Sheriff's Department in Stearns County, Minn., launched a citizen engagement policy that has helped solve crimes.
April 21, 2014

Now 10 Years Old, Utah's UTOPIA Tries to Beat the Odds

Municipally run broadband networks don't have a great track record, but after 10 years, the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency isn't giving up.
April 17, 2014

Does America Want a Technology Revolution?

A new survey takes a snapshot of America’s outlook on technology, from robot servants and eating lab-grown meat to time-travel and curing cancer.
April 14, 2014

Innovation Center Helps North Carolina Tackle Tech Challenges

The state's iCenter simplified the transition away from Windows XP and has proven a reliable testing ground for new technologies the state wants to deploy.
April 14, 2014

Changing Typeface May Save Millions, But Focus Remains on Going Digital

A middle-school student showed the feds how to save hundreds of millions. Local CIOs agree it's a good idea, and one has already made the change, but the biggest savings will come when less printing occurs at all levels of government.
April 11, 2014

Seattle Hires Interim CTO, Focuses on Broadband and Microsoft 365 Pilot

After the cancellation of the city's fiber rollout and the departure of Chief Technology Officer Erin Devoto, the city has found a temporary replacement to head technology efforts.
April 10, 2014

Govies Search for Talent on Twitter

Some government officials are finding Twitter a fast, cheap and easy method of advertising new job openings in their agencies.
April 9, 2014

Ramos Closer to Reconfirmation as California’s Tech Czar

Thanks to a government agency reorganization last year, the head of the California Department of Technology must be reconfirmed by the state Senate.
April 4, 2014

D.C. Neighborhood First in City to Launch Free Wi-Fi

One Washington, D.C., neighborhood learned that launching a free public Wi-Fi network was not as easy as initially anticipated.
April 3, 2014

New York State Seeks CIO

A job posting by the Office of Information and Technology Services points toward an exit for state CIO Brian Digman.
March 31, 2014

Jacksonville, Fla., Publishes Online Scorecards for Better Transparency

The city's JaxScore website shows the public how its doing -- and changes how employees work at the same time.
March 25, 2014

Robots, Drones and the Uncertain Future of Work

If machines can do something better than people can, it would be senseless to hold back progress for fear of lost jobs. Finding or inventing a new job, however, is harder than it once was.

March 24, 2014

Archiving Pinterest: How One County Tourism Department Did It

To meet a state transparency law, the Lee County, Fla., Visitor & Convention Bureau had to find a way to archive their Pinterest account if they wanted to continue using it.
March 24, 2014

Thinking Big on Sustainability

Building 21st-century cities means taking the long view.
March 19, 2014

Keeping Inmates Honest (with Technology)

Officials in Maryland and Pennsylvania are looking to technology to reduce contraband in prisons and keep inmates from illegally receiving unemployment checks.
March 17, 2014

States Look to Data Sharing to Reduce Recidivism

The National Governors Association announced three states that will participate in a program to improve data sharing so prisoners can successfully re-enter society.
March 12, 2014

California Preparing for Self-Driving Cars by 2015

Self-driving cars sound like fantasy to many, but regulators are laying the groundwork for the technology to hit the roads next year.
March 12, 2014

Detroit's New CIO Will Start with the Basics to Build a Foundation for Success

Detroit is arguably in the worst shape of any major U.S. city, but CIO Beth Niblock says she's ready for a big challenge.
March 11, 2014

IT Governance a Top Priority in Lexington, Ky.

The new governance committee will find centralized solutions that can help the enterprise.
March 6, 2014

Howard County, Md., Launches CISO in Residence Program

Security is important, but most new companies don't have or can't afford a dedicated security expert, and that's how HOCO CISO was born.
March 6, 2014

Pittsburgh Uses Holistic Approach to City Services, Sustainability

Pittsburgh's new mayor has an eye on sustainability and social equity, and he's hired on a sustainability consultant to meet those goals.
March 5, 2014

Software TIES Law Enforcement Agencies Together

As the big data movement explodes, law enforcement in the Denver region reaps the benefits.
March 5, 2014

Police App Encourages Officers to Fight Fatigue

A professor and former police officer and others have created an app that alerts cops when they're too tired to continue working safely.
March 4, 2014

Colorado's New CTO Does Tech and Management in Collaborative Style

Within 30 days, Suma Nallapati says she will map out a strategy for her plans in the state.
February 28, 2014

Cybersecurity Gets a Boost from the National Guard

The National Guard has a critical role to play in coordinating cyber-resources across federal, state and local governments.
February 28, 2014

Virginia Hires Government Contractor as New Deputy Secretary of Technology

After 17 years in the private sector, including contracting with agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense, Anthony Fung will for the first time see government from the inside looking out.
February 27, 2014

Could Mobile VoIP Replace Mobile Voice Service?

As people talk less and text more, voice usage is in decline and some organizations are looking to mobile VoIP as a replacement to cellphone voice service.
February 25, 2014

Virginia ID Platform -- 2014 GT Top 25 Winner

William Hazel, Virginia Health and Human Resources secretary; David Burhop, Virginia DMV CIO; and Sam Nixon, Virginia CIO

February 25, 2014

Adam Edelen -- 2014 GT Top 25 Winner

State auditor, Kentucky
February 21, 2014

Meet Colorado's Chief Connection Officer

Colorado's voluntary chief innovation officer position is all about making the right associations.
February 21, 2014

Innovative New Span to Replace Iconic Los Angeles Bridge

A famed bridge that has appeared in numerous films is giving way to a futuristic new structure.

February 20, 2014

MIT Researchers Work to Make Robots Smarter

Robots can do lots of things, but they're still not great at solving problems. But new research from MIT could improve this in robots, especially for search and rescue.
February 20, 2014

On Security: A Call for Lateral Thinking (Opinion)

Target's huge data breach brought into the limelight once again the neverending battle against thievery.
February 19, 2014

Open Source Catching on in Government

More government agencies are following the military's lead and using open source and open development practices to collaborate and save money.
February 19, 2014

Using Data and Analytics to Make Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Great

Laura Meixell, the city's new analytics and strategy manager, will work to improve city neighborhoods, help redesign the city's 311 solution and more.
February 14, 2014

Obama Injects Dry California with Funding, Not Technology

Obama visited Fresno on Friday, addressing the drought and detailing $183 million in federal aid for the state, but some are calling for long-term solutions.
February 14, 2014

Target Breach Serves as Wake-Up Call for Government

The Target data breach taught the public sector a lesson about data security and demonstrated a need for change.
February 13, 2014

Can FAA Drone Sites Help Planes and UAVs Coexist?

Drone test sites in North Dakota, Nevada and Alaska offer unique resources and expertise to help UAVs seamlessly integrate into the national airspace.
February 10, 2014

Hawaii Boasts Technology Progress, Announces New CIO

Hawaii has come a long way since Sonny Bhagowalia was appointed the state's first CIO in 2011, the governor said in a press conference.
February 5, 2014

Pettit Grasps Structural Challenges in Oregon

No longer CIO of Oklahoma, incoming Oregon state CIO Alex Pettit takes on Oregon's unusual organizational structure.
February 4, 2014

Muni Wi-Fi: Another One Bites the Dust?

Stuck between promises to the public and aging equipment, Riverside, Calif., must determine the best course of action for its free, citywide Wi-Fi network.
February 3, 2014

The 7 Rules of Social Media

Experts share the do's and don'ts of social media to help governments better communicate with the public online.
January 30, 2014

Michigan Studies Unpaved Roads from the Sky

Assessing unpaved roads and roadside features on foot could, in coming years, become a thing of the past.
January 29, 2014

White House Invites SOTU Questions from Citizens via Twitter

The White House used social media to put a new twist on an old idea.
January 27, 2014

Online Queue System Brings Rave Reviews for the DMV

The Michigan Secretary of State's office is the latest agency to deploy an online queue system that is slashing customer wait times, and driving increased efficiencies.

January 27, 2014

Wayne County, Mich., Beefs Up Weather App

The county's award-winning Compass app has been infused with a slew of new features targeting mobile users who want to stay safe in the snow.
January 23, 2014

Massachusetts CIO Bill Oates Carries Innovation Culture to the Commonwealth

The former Boston CIO says he hopes to bring his open and collaborative style to his new position as CIO of the state.
January 22, 2014

What Happened to Seattle's Gigabit Network?

The city's failed gigabit project raised a lot of questions, and as a new mayor takes over, many wonder what will happen next.
January 21, 2014

Beyond License Plates: New Tech Skills for Prisoners

Education programs at two Washington state prisons are helping inmates develop new skills that better prepare them for the modern workforce.
January 20, 2014

Collaboration Portal Connects Pennsylvania IT Workers

Revamped central IT portal improves communication and cuts through confusion.
January 16, 2014

Can the New Blackphone Combat NSA Spying?

In February, a team of Spanish mobile phone makers and security experts will unveil a new phone to fight government intrusion.
January 15, 2014

Internet of Things Pokes Holes in IT Security

As more industrial devices connect to computer networks, IT security professionals learn they have more things to watch out for.
January 14, 2014

Virginia Secretary of Technology's Key Focus is Cybersecurity

Karen Jackson shares her plans for the commonwealth's next four years of technology, cybersecurity being at the forefront.
January 10, 2014

Wireless Electric Vehicle Charger to Pilot in New York City

Power cords are holding back electric vehicles, according to a New York City-based startup.
January 6, 2014

Could Chemical Signals Replace Radio in Extreme Environments?

Low-speed chemical messages could prove more effective than traditional technologies in many emergency response scenarios.
January 2, 2014

Handling Big Data in the Military

The journey to make use of big data is being undertaken by civilian organizations, law enforcement agencies and military alike.
December 18, 2013

SF's Market Street Wi-Fi Marks Shift In City's Tech Approach

Unbound by old leadership or restrictive outside relationships, San Francisco built a free-to-use public Wi-Fi network on Market Street -- and they did it their way.
December 18, 2013

Predicting the Future of State Legislation

A startup launched this year predicts with 93 percent accuracy what will happen with state legislation. Soon, the service will include federal and local predictions.
December 16, 2013

Sherri Hammons Leaves Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology

After two and a half years of Hammons' expectation-breaking success, the OIT is searching for her successor.
December 13, 2013

Colorado Dumps FatWire, Adopts Drupal CMS

After eight years of using the FatWire CMS to manage its websites, Colorado is migrating to Drupal to more easily serve content to an increasingly mobile user base.
December 12, 2013

2013: The Year in Robots

A new robot that detects cracks in tunnel walls could save governments money on inspection crews, and represents yet another invention in a series of robots released in recent years.
December 11, 2013

Secrets Uncovered by Google Earth

In late November, researchers found that countries bordering the Persian Gulf were under-reporting their fishing catches. The discovery wasn't the first made by using Google Earth.
December 10, 2013

Marijuana Laws Prompt New Use of Scent Detection Tech

Nasal Ranger quantifies odors in public spaces, and helps governments deal with scent-related complaints.
December 9, 2013

Hero911 App Targets School Shootings

A new mobile app could give on- and off-duty law enforcement officers a 60-second head start on the next Columbine or Sandy Hook.
December 9, 2013

Joke Tweets Highlight Social Media's Integrity Issue

A recently suspended Twitter account parodying Richmond, Va., Mayor Dwight Jones raises questions about governance on social media platforms.
December 5, 2013

Will Everyone Wear Google Glass Someday?

A man left a Seattle restaurant after the owner prohibited him from wearing a computer on his face, raising questions about the new technology.
December 4, 2013

5 Ways to Build Your Twitter Following

Jonathan Reichental, CIO of Palo Alto, Calif., is one of the most popular tweeters in government IT. Here are the keys to his success.
December 2, 2013

Bend, Ore., Keeps Pace with Unified Network

Explosive population growth forced the city to scale up operations, but the subsequent recession forced officials to search for new ways to deliver services.
November 26, 2013

San Diego Central Library Goes with Passive Optical

A new passive optical network should reduce the library's network power costs and operational costs by more than half.
November 22, 2013

How Will de Blasio Impact New York Technology?

As Bloomberg's 12-year reign caps off a period that began with people using flip phones and signing up for DSL, many wonder if New York City's new leader will take technology in a different direction.
November 21, 2013

Hyperloop Organizers Poised to Select Talent

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is almost ready to pick its team, and with all the talent available, Hyperloop's future is looking bright.
November 20, 2013

San Francisco Entrepreneurship in Residence Finalists Announced

Three to five of the announced finalists will work with government to help solve the city and county's problems.
November 18, 2013

Why Does London Want Its Own Domain Suffix?

London will soon be among the first cities to get its own top level domain, but the prevalent online reaction to the news is "why bother?"
November 12, 2013

5 New Approaches to Government Procurement

Government procurement is changing. Government Technology highlights five different ways to move beyond traditional processes.
November 11, 2013

Silicon Valley Programmers Fill in Gaps Left by HealthCare.gov

Frustrated with his inability to browse health insurance plans through his state's portal, one programmer gathered his team and built a website that does what HealthCare.gov should have done to begin with.
November 8, 2013

APCO Forum to Showcase the Future of Public Safety Tech

From next-generation 911 and FirstNet to apps and cybersecurity, organizers of the APCO Technology Forum want members to know that public safety tech is changing fast.
November 7, 2013

San Francisco Entrepreneurship in Residence Program Reports Application Surge

The program received applications from about 200 startups, which could make choosing companies for the three to five spots more difficult for organizers.
November 6, 2013

How Will You Handle the Death of Windows XP?

Windows XP has about five months of Microsoft support left, but millions of devices still run the outdated operating system.
November 5, 2013

Chicago Ends Grace Period for Speed Cameras

Chicago's new speed cameras are now bringing in revenue, but city officials say that's not the point.
November 4, 2013

Are Internet-Enabled Medical Devices Safe from Hackers?

The prospect of medical devices getting hacked has the Center for Internet Security and others planning standards that will help secure them.
November 1, 2013

FAA Relaxes Rules for Electronic Devices on Commercial Flights

The Federal Aviation Administration announces that personal electronic devices will be permitted on commercial flights pending approval of individual policies submitted by airlines.
October 31, 2013

Why Wasn't Healthcare.gov Load Tested?

One company offers free services to the government in an attempt to fix the problems that persist for the federal health-care portal.
October 30, 2013

Earthquake Early Warning System Looks for Funding

A bill that passed last month authorized California to look for funding to develop an earthquake early warning system, but the project isn't yet a sure thing.
October 28, 2013

CIOs Sound Off: What Happened to Your BlackBerry?

Once the only game in town, BlackBerry appears to be headed out of the market entirely. Five government CIOs share which mobile devices have their attention today.
October 28, 2013

Bringing Women and Minorities to IT

Groups work to reverse decades of cultural barriers that keep women and minorities out of technical careers.
October 22, 2013

Would You Wear a Smart Watch?

Five government CIOs discuss the recent release of the Samsung Galaxy Gear, the tech giant's try at a smart watch.
October 18, 2013

New NSA Data Center: Too Big Not to Explode?

The 100,000-square-foot NSA data center being built in Bluffdale, Utah, is having trouble handling the power running through it -- enough to power a city of 20,000.
October 17, 2013

Mississippi Isn't Waiting for Google Fiber

Mississippi residents want gigabit fiber, and wireless provider C Spire will soon deploy it in communities with sufficient interest.
October 16, 2013

Survey: Government Continues to Pursue Cloud Solutions

A recent survey showed that about half of local and state IT managers were pursuing or interested in pursuing the cloud in their organizations.

October 14, 2013

ACA Exchanges: Why Weren't States Ready?

Health insurance marketplaces got off to a rocky start this month, largely because of an aggressive timeline that rushed development for many states.
October 11, 2013

FDA to Regulate Some Mobile Apps

Some mobile apps will now be subject to FDA regulation.
October 10, 2013

Can California Fix Its IT Planning Process?

Often plagued by multi-year delays and multi-million dollar budget overages, California IT projects are getting a makeover.
October 8, 2013

Chicago Candidate Wants to Transform Political Discussion

A candidate for alderman in Chicago's 44th ward is building an online portal that he says will hold politicians' feet to the fire.
October 4, 2013

How Will the Shutdown Affect State and Local Government?

Public-sector CIOs report being mostly unaffected by the shutdown thus far, but what if it continues?
October 3, 2013

A Common View: Facility Managers Share Building Data with Emergency Responders

Private facilities can share building data with public safety responders via a common dashboard, providing key situational awareness in an emergency.

October 2, 2013

Best in Government Cybersecurity Honored

Seven organizations in education, health care and government are being recognized for achievements in IT security.
September 30, 2013

Researchers Target Network Bottlenecks

Researchers at Rice University will use a three-year National Science Foundation grant to improve network efficiency and speed up science research.
September 27, 2013

Do Traffic Light Cycles Impact Red Light Camera Revenue?

Analyzing prior research, University of Tennessee researchers drew several conclusions about shortening yellow lights at intersections.
September 27, 2013

The Future of Forensic Identification?

An information artist uses DNA analysis to create a 3-D portrait of what an individual looks like.

September 26, 2013

Adding Value to Government: Ted Gaebler Reflects on Long Career

Ted Gaebler, current city manager of Rancho Cordova, Calif., looks back at his career and looks forward to some time off.
September 25, 2013

Earthquake Early Warning System Coming to California

Following the lead of many countries around the world, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill authorizing an $80 million system that lets people know when an earthquake is about to hit.
September 19, 2013

Crowdsourcing During Tax Season Saves Departments of Revenue Millions

Government agencies are crowdsourcing data entry to help manage the workload during peak tax processing seasons.
September 17, 2013

Domain Awareness Center May Bring Proactive Policing to Oakland

To the dismay of civil liberties activists, Oakland, Calif.'s Domain Awareness Center could unite many disparate security resources from around the city.
September 16, 2013

With Ballmer Headed Out, What Should Microsoft Do Next?

A replacement for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will soon be announced and the direction of the company could change. Four public-sector CIOs advise the tech giant on what to do next.
September 13, 2013

Super Wi-Fi Pilot Hits Libraries Around the Country

A combination of unused TV channel spectrum and traditional Wi-Fi could create opportunities for underserved areas.
September 12, 2013

Colorado Finds Out What Service Delivery Managers Can Do for Government

A mainstay in the private sector, service delivery managers are relatively new to government, and in Colorado, they're proving to be valuable.
September 10, 2013

CIOs Weigh in on Zuckerberg's Internet.org

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his partners are looking to connect everyone in the world to the Internet. Three public-sector CIOs respond to the announcement.
September 9, 2013

San Francisco Launches Entrepreneurship in Residence (EIR) Program

In an attempt to solve some of San Francisco's public-sector tech woes, and give entrepreneurs a chance to tap the public-sector market, the mayor announced a new EIR program.
September 6, 2013

National Movement Targets Lack of Women, Minorities in Computing

In recent years, new organizations have popped up around the country with the common goal of showing women and minorities that computer science isn't just for people who look like Bill Gates.
September 4, 2013

Massachusetts Revisits Controversial Tech Tax

A new Massachusetts tax on software and technology services will be reviewed by Gov. Deval Patrick and industry and legislative leaders to identify concerns and resolve ambiguity in the law.
August 28, 2013

Can Google Glass Help First Responders?

First responders can now access critical data in the field as well as link back to central command, and Google Glass lets them do it hands-free.
August 28, 2013

Gamification: Governments Use Gaming Principles to Get Citizens Involved

Gaming mechanics are changing how people engage online and in real-life activities — can they remake government’s relationship with employees and citizens?
August 27, 2013

Roadside Systems Detect Wildlife to Prevent Collisions

Roadside wildlife detection systems use radar and lasers to save wild animals and protect drivers who might cross their paths.
August 26, 2013

Baltimore Weaves New Infrastructure with Fabric-Based Computing

Now scheduled for a Christmas completion, Baltimore CTO Chris Tonjes shares how the city's technology situation is going from bad to great.
August 23, 2013

Texas Public Safety Services Get Agile

As Texas.gov works with the Department of Public Safety to offer new portal services, project leaders look to agile software development.
August 22, 2013

Maryland Appoints New CIO, Creates Cybersecurity Role

This month the Governor of Maryland announced a new state CIO, and a new cybersecurity role for outgoing CIO Elliot H. Schlanger.

August 21, 2013

Mobile Fire App to Shave Seconds Off Operations

A new iPad app developed by students at Princeton University is now being piloted by fire departments that hope to save precious seconds during calls.
August 16, 2013

Fi$Cal ERP Overhaul Hits First Critical Milestone

Officials report that the first phase of California's $617 million financial system overhaul concluded successfully, boding well for future targets.
August 14, 2013

Social Media and Emergency Management to Collide

Government officials have come a long way with technology but when it comes to emergency communications, there's still a lot to learn.
August 13, 2013

Could Elon Musk's Hyperloop Derail High-Speed Rail?

Two years of background work by the Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder reveals an affordable, open-source alternative to California's proposed high-speed rail.
August 12, 2013

Fire Hydrant App Improves Workflow in Philadelphia

Saving time, money and making the city safer were all goals realized by a GIS-based fire hydrant maintenance system.

August 12, 2013

Open Data in San Jose to Start with Permit-Tracking

The San Jose City Council will consider an open data project that starts with permit-tracking software in order to bring transparency and accountability to an inefficient process.
August 8, 2013

Springfield, Mo., Captures Route 66 History with Crowdfunding

A half-million dollar park project intended to commemorate the birthplace of Route 66 turns to crowdfunding to help reach its first goal.
August 6, 2013

Open Data Victories Come to Illinois

The Illinois state legislature unanimously voted two open data bills through the House and Senate -- evidence that the state is poised to codify a widespread desire to open more data to the public.
August 5, 2013

Digital Cemetery Preserves Legacy of City Residents

In an effort to modernize and improve service to cemetery visitors in Marion, Ill., the city launched an online map of 35,000 grave plots.
August 1, 2013

New Collective Targets Would-Be Green Cities

The Sustainability Exchange is offering services to mayors around the country who want an edge on their environmental projects.
July 30, 2013

CIO Marc Touitou Discusses San Francisco's IT Priorities

Marc Touitou talks about IT challenges and goals.
July 30, 2013

Engineering Students Build a 'Firebot'

An early prototype of a semi-autonomous robot designed for firefighting applications won a $10,000 grand prize at the Student Infrared Imaging Competition.
July 26, 2013

Crowdfunded FOIA Machine Could Simplify Data Requests

The Center for Investigative Reporting quickly met its Kickstarter goal, and is now developing a platform that will make requesting data from the government easier and more efficient.
July 26, 2013

Washington State's IT Project Law Aims to Enhance IT Operations

This legislation is bigger than just a few changes – it represents the state’s overall commitment to changing how it offers services.

July 24, 2013

Virtual 3-D Desktop Targets Medicine, Education

Using a stylus to pull objects out of screens into the air in front of them, users can rotate objects and perform various spatial tasks.

July 24, 2013

Former Sacramento, Calif., CIO Reflects on Success

Having overseen an IT restructuring, the city's first 311 app and the birth of an IT innovation fund, Gary Cook reflects on his time in Sacramento and his plans for the future.
July 24, 2013

Counter-Insurgency Software Goes Stateside

Military software is being shared with domestic law enforcement to refine the tool for the Department of Defense, while helping police gang units in the meantime.
July 22, 2013

FirstNet Enters a New Phase

The First Responder Network Authority recently announced 10 RFIs, launching a search for equipment that will bridge the nation's public safety network.
July 22, 2013

A Digital Take on 'Remembering The Alamo'

The Texas General Land Office's project to document the historical building involves several Texas universities.
July 17, 2013

Sacramento, Calif., CIO Leaves

The city of Sacramento confirms that CIO Gary Cook is no longer working for the city.
July 17, 2013

A New Twist on 3-D Printing: With Liquid Metal

The ability to print liquid metal structures that hold their shapes could lead to new applications in electrical components.
July 16, 2013

Idaho's $3 Million School Tech Pilot Aims to Support Educational Outcome

The Idaho State Department of Education's pilot aims to ensure that technology isn't being used simply for technology’s sake.
July 15, 2013

San Jose, Calif., Steps to the Cloud

CIO Vijay Sammeta says the city's investment in Microsoft cloud services isn't just another iteration of software, but an investment in a platform.
July 9, 2013

Make Way for State and Local Cyber-Ranges

The federal government has wanted a nationwide network of unclassified cyberexercise facilities for years, and now the idea is making its way to state and local governments.
July 9, 2013

IRS Accidentally Publishes Thousands of SSNs

Some put the number of Social Security numbers published to a public website as high as 100,000.
July 8, 2013

Veteran City Manager Leaves San Carlos, Calif., After 26 Years

Having served in many leadership positions around the city, the assistant city manager announced he will leave the city to take time off and return for encore management.
July 3, 2013

Sacramento County, Calif.'s Restaurant App Starts Mobile Trend

Shortly after releasing its first mobile app, Sacramento County is expanding, with plans to release several more mobile Web services this fall.
June 28, 2013

California Announces Private Cloud Offering for 2014

The California Office of Technology Services' privately-run cloud service will be another lower-cost method of delivering IT services to its customers.
June 28, 2013

Personal Rapid Transit Revival?

Personal rapid transit derailed in the 1970s. Some are ready to give it another try.
June 26, 2013

Chicago Announces New CIO

As Chicago's new CIO and commissioner of the Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology, Brenna Berman aims to keep the city "nimble and innovative."
June 24, 2013

NY Comptroller Office Continues With New CIO

Passing the reins to an employee who has been with the agency for 20 years, the Office of the New York State Comptroller looks to its new CIO to continue past efforts.
June 24, 2013

Clearing Up Cloud Confusion

Industry analysts offer tips on making sense of the security standards that everyone hears about but few understand.
June 21, 2013

Wyoming Poised for Transformation, Starting with IPv6

Wyoming plans to be the first state to fully adopt Internet Protocol version 6 by 2015, and is laying the foundation for educational and economic growth.
June 19, 2013

Streamlined Silent Auction System Eases Process in Arkansas

Sorting out silent auction winners could be confusing and frustrating, but a new system simplifies the process for silent auction organizers and attendees.
June 17, 2013

Pittsburgh Brings Wi-Fi to its Waterways

The Port of Pittsburgh Commission is developing an infrastructure backbone and suite of apps and devices that could refresh river transport technology across the country.
June 14, 2013

Oregon Treadmill Desks Gaining Traction

A bill to test treadmill desks in Oregon state agencies is expected to pass, and at least one other state has expressed interest in participating.
June 13, 2013

Will PRISM Impact Open Data Efforts?

News of widespread online spying by the National Security Agency has some open data proponents concerned about their image.
June 13, 2013

Touitou Wants to Bring Urgency to San Francisco IT

San Francisco named Marc Touitou its new CIO on April 25, a private-sector IT professional with more than 30 years of experience.
June 12, 2013

Google or Not, Cities Pin Hopes on Gigabit Networks

The list of gigabit cities continues to grow, as officials hope investments in high-speed networks will translate to economic development success.
June 10, 2013

TxDOT Moves IT Workers to Private Firm

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced that 350 of its IT staff will become employees of NTT Data, the agency's new IT provider.
June 6, 2013

Will Amazon Cloud's FedRAMP Approval Affect Government?

Amazon Web Services announced it was the first major cloud service provider to be FedRAMP compliant, but will this matter to state and local government?
June 5, 2013

Baltimore Fills New Chief Data Officer Role

On June 1, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced Heather Hudson as the city’s first chief data officer.

June 3, 2013

Hawaii Uses Collaborate.org as its Data Sharing Backbone

Using Collaborate.org, governments can share data once so that everyone can use it -- and the Aloha State is starting the trend.

May 30, 2013

North Dakota CIO Leaves Position After 7 Years

Lisa Feldner will step down on May 31 to work for North Dakota’s University System, where her experiences with IT consolidation and collaboration will come in handy.
May 29, 2013

Chicago CDO to Leave Government

After two years, Chicago Chief Data and Information Officer Brett Goldstein is leaving the city to accept a fellowship with the University of Chicago, where he will explore new opportunities for government and technology.
May 28, 2013

The Google Perspective: Gigabit Internet in Local Governments

As Google pursues gigabit fiber deployments, the Internet giant looks for emerging tech hubs with public demand for high-speed connections and local leaders with vision.
May 24, 2013

New Program Lets Davis, Calif., Residents Monitor Water Use Online

With water rates expected to triple over the next five years, the city of Davis unveiled a new tool to assist water utility customers in their water conservation efforts.
May 24, 2013

Can This App Find Your Next Job?

A not-yet-developed mobile app would always run behind the scenes to notify potential employers of your presence.

May 23, 2013

Can Data Drive Student Choices in Louisville, Ky.?

Economic development officials hope that real-time job data along with free education for part-time UPS workers will help the local economy by providing qualified talent for local jobs.

May 21, 2013

Amid Disaster, Oklahoma Students Design Tornado Drones

Students at the Oklahoma State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering designed preliminary storm drones that could someday gather data that saves lives.
May 20, 2013

Data Makes Dubuque, Iowa Smart and Sustainable

The city of Dubuque, Iowa, partnered with IBM Research to create Smarter Sustainable Dubuque, which has led to several green projects that save the city and its citizens money.
May 17, 2013

California Launches Cybersecurity Task Force

State officials hope to create a first-of-its-kind comprehensive framework to bolster cybersecurity efforts while maintaining strong relationships with local government and the private sector.
May 17, 2013

Part Three: Who Controls the Internet?

Could increased cooperation between government and Internet activists lead to a favorable ending for the Web?
May 16, 2013

Part Two: Who Controls the Internet?

Will agencies like the International Telecommunications Union play a role in future development of the World Wide Web?
May 16, 2013

Smarter Cities' Advice to Transform Fresno, Calif.

With the first phase of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge complete in the city of Fresno, Calif., a team of researchers shared recommendations to transform the agricultural hub into a technology leader.
May 15, 2013

Who Controls the Internet?

In part one of our three-part series on Internet governance, we look at whether the World Wide Web is truly open and free, and whether Web regulations are likely to stay as they are today.
May 13, 2013

Texas.gov Upgrade Learned from Analytics

A redesigned Texas.gov puts the most requested services first, while responsive design ensures users can access the website from any device.
May 10, 2013

King County, Wash., Saves $6.1 Million

The Department of Assessments launched a custom-built mobile app for the county's 140 property assessors that's making their job easier and saving an estimated $6.1 million over the next five years.
May 9, 2013

San Francisco Startup Buses Showers to Homeless

Following a federal grant to the city, old buses will be donated to a new startup offering mobile shower and toilet services to the homeless.
May 8, 2013

Public Joins DARPA In Tank Design

As part of a new design process, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency invited the public to participate in developing an amphibious attack vehicle.
May 7, 2013

Florida DOC Saves on Phone Calls

For the Florida Department of Corrections, a budget-driven consolidation decision helped propel the agency towards a unified digital phone system.

May 6, 2013

New Kentucky CIO Brings Big Experience

Jim Fowler leaves his position as deputy commissioner for the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to become CIO of Kentucky.
May 2, 2013

The Internet of Everything Emerges

The Internet of information is merging with the Internet of Things — and the world will never be the same.
April 29, 2013

Cool Your Servers -- in Vats of Oil?

Even just a 5 percent savings on cooling overhead could make cooling servers in mineral oil an attractive investment in the public sector.
April 26, 2013

BlackBerry to Samsung: An Easy Switch for Staunton, Virginia

The city of Staunton, Va., made a user-driven decision to abandon its BlackBerrys.
April 25, 2013

Is a See-Through Smartphone on the Horizon?

It just might be, but these other handy items are available for use right now.
April 25, 2013

Big Data Week 2013 Rages On

From April 22 to 26, more than 25 cities worldwide are coordinating and sharing their knowledge of how data can improve their organizations.
April 24, 2013

Mobile Phones: Looking Back 40 Years and Into the Future

The first mobile phone call was made in 1973 on a 2.5-pound "brick," but the future of mobile technology could allow for "telepathic" communications.
April 23, 2013

Franklin County, Ohio, Builds Transparent Procurement System From Scratch

County officials say procurement wasn't working as well they'd like, so they began building a new system using HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, and Active Directory.
April 23, 2013

Report: Security Breaches Are Easy Money

The Verizon 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report draws from more data than ever, revealing that most data breaches are opportunistic attacks to gain a quick buck.
April 19, 2013

L.A. County to Redesign the Voting Process

L.A. County has entered into the design phase of a new user-driven voting system for the city's 4.7 million registered voters.
April 15, 2013

Hackathon Aims to Improve the San Francisco Experience

New applications and platforms can lead to better service for tourists and citizens, said San Francisco Chief Innovation Officer Jay Nath.
April 11, 2013

New York State and SUNY Partner for Data Center Consolidation

New York Gov. Cuomo has announced that the state will consolidate its approximately 50 scattered data centers at the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.
April 9, 2013

How To: Infographics for Govies

Why not add a visual element to press releases to grab the public's attention?
April 8, 2013

Digital Urban Planning Starts with Common Tools

In Louisville, Ky., government leaders are looking to new ways for meeting organizational goals -- ways that many are overlooking.
April 8, 2013

Technology Brings in Dollars in Indiana

Indiana's Economic Development Corporation secured $6.4 billion in economic development contracts in 2012, thanks in part to a new CRM system.
April 5, 2013

Overcoming Hindrances to Public-Sector Collaboration

Replace fear with something positive, and allow yourself and your agency to become vulnerable.
April 4, 2013

3 Forces Hindering Public-Sector Collaboration

If collaboration is so great, then why isn't everyone doing it?
April 4, 2013

DHS' Mark Weatherford Moves On

Upon his exit, Weatherford shares where the role of government must go where cybersecurity is concerned.
April 3, 2013

Federal Data Center Consolidation Changes Approach

U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel announced a change in approach to meeting the government's goal of saving $2.5 billion by 2015.
April 1, 2013

Cops Give Telemetry Tracking New Life

Police nationwide breathe new life into the nearly 85-year-old technology.

March 29, 2013

What Can 3-D Printing Do for Your Organization?

3-D printing isn't just about art projects -- the technology holds value for government, both found and undiscovered.
March 29, 2013

Louis Carr Joins Clark County, Nev., as CIO

Carr is no stranger to the role of CIO, having previously served as CIO of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and of Arlington, Texas, before that.
March 26, 2013

Holograms Add New Dimension to Fighting Fire

An Italian researcher is developing a device that could someday give firefighters a 3-D scene of the fires they fight — and the people they're working to save.
March 20, 2013

San Jose, Calif., Launches Fast Public Wi-Fi

In the city's second attempt at municipal Wi-Fi, officials applied lessons learned from past projects to create a faster, more reliable network.
March 13, 2013

Seattle Confirms New CTO

Erin Devoto's appointment as the city's new CTO means she can move forward with updating aging data centers, leasing excess fiber bandwidth, and enhancing open data and mobile application efforts.
March 11, 2013

Davis, Calif., Forms Public-Private Partnership to Hire Chief Innovation Officer

The new innovation officer position is the result of a public-private partnership between Davis, Calif., and technology leadership group techDAVIS.
March 7, 2013

Could New Software Help Cops Track Social Media?

Predictive policing is already in effect nationwide, but adding software that monitors social media to law enforcement's arsenal could potentially enhance officers’ ability to do their jobs.
March 6, 2013

In Oshkosh, Wis., Transparency Is Key

Over time, transparency has evolved from just a buzzword to actually being important to the public.
March 4, 2013

A Less Anonymous Internet?

A bill opposing online anonymity was quickly shot down by privacy advocates in Illinois, but some experts think non-anonymous behavior online will someday prevail.
March 1, 2013

The Case for Drones

While anti-drone legislation is cropping up across the country, some experts feel their public safety potential, including in fire and rescue situations, is being overlooked.
February 27, 2013

Lydia Murray Discusses the Changing Role of the CIO

As CIO of Cook County, Ill., Murray also collaborates extensively with Chicago and is working to bring high-speed fiber to the county's court and jail facilities.
February 21, 2013

Could Google's Push for Digital Privacy Changes Affect Law Enforcement?

Google is working to change the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require that government investigators obtain a search warrant when requesting access to old emails and messages stored online.
February 21, 2013

LA Officials Say 311 App Was Worth the Wait

Despite criticism of Los Angeles for being one of the last major cities to develop a mobile app, city officials feel the app's robust features make it a winner for citizens.
February 19, 2013

Will Changes to HIPAA Help Secure Health Data?

In an online presentation, two experts on health-care security explained how upcoming changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act will affect health-care IT.
February 15, 2013

Texas Moves More Than 100,000 State Workers to Microsoft Cloud

The new contract represents one of the largest state government cloud migrations ever.
February 14, 2013

California DMV Cancels IT Modernization Project Contract

While one part of the two-system project will be completed on schedule, only "minimal work" has been done so far to upgrade the state's vehicle registration system.

February 14, 2013

Will the Dell Buyout Affect Government?

As Dell's founder and its investors leverage a buyout, some government agencies are left wondering what will become of their own investments in the company's products.
February 11, 2013

Do Governments Need Personal Social Media Policies?

While the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that private industry can't keep employees from venting about work online, how should government agencies handle personal social media policies?
February 7, 2013

Indiana's New CIO Sets Sights on No. 1

Newly appointed CIO Paul Baltzell outlines ambitious tech plans for Indiana, echoing incoming Gov. Mike Pence's intention to take the state from good to great.
February 6, 2013

Los Angeles Announces Website Redesign and Mobile App

During a press conference conducted via a Google Hangout, the city of Los Angeles announced two new pieces of technology to help the government catch up with other cities.
February 4, 2013

Can Alicia Keys Save BlackBerry?

BlackBerry launched a new operating system and phone line intended to capture the consumer market, but will these new products impact government?
February 1, 2013

Google Plus Surges, Boasting Higher Usage than Twitter

According to a recent report, Google Plus is now the second most popular social media platform, ahead of Twitter, but are governments using it to their advantage?
January 29, 2013

Chicago Open311 Empowers Texters

Chicago's Open311 adds an SMS service tracking feature its CTO says is the first of its kind.

January 25, 2013

6 Ways to Optimize Gov-to-Citizen Communication

Governments looking to improve communication with their constituents may want to consider these suggestions and best practices from a recent GovDelivery and EfficientGov webinar.
January 25, 2013

Mississippi Parks Apps United with Common Interface

A technology upgrade at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks makes operations easier, more transparent and cheaper for the state.
January 23, 2013

Transparency: New York State Reveals All (Its Numbers)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the first phase of 2013's open government initiative, revealing a new website that will allow citizens to view the state's budget data and create new, useful tools.
January 21, 2013

Veterans Access Federal Benefits, Save States Millions

Leveraging data from a 20-year-old system has saved states millions of dollars, and helped veterans access benefits they didn't know they could receive.
January 18, 2013

Facebook Graph Search Announcement Inspires IT Leaders

Though nascent, Facebook's Graph Search tool is already giving government IT leaders new ideas about how to better engage their communities.
January 18, 2013

Ohio Goes With Revamped Traffic Site

Replacing the Buckeye Traffic website, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced a new site featuring real-time traffic information.
January 11, 2013

New Baltimore CTO Focuses on Engagement

Baltimore's new chief technology officer is looking for ways to cut waste, update infrastructure and engage the community.
January 9, 2013

Ambitious IT Plans for Maricopa County Under New CIO

Spearheading the IT agenda of the most populous county in Arizona, Maricopa County CIO David Stevens has his sights set on major infrastructure upgrades, aggressive transparency and relationship-building.

January 8, 2013

Montana Leads Major Multi-State IT Projects

Though its relatively small population could relegate it to a minor player in the world of government IT, the state of Montana is leading several innovative interstate IT projects, causing other states to take notice.
January 8, 2013

Madison, Wis., Launches Open Data Platform

Following New York City's lead, Madison passes an open data ordinance and launches an open data platform to spur civic engagement and economic development.
January 3, 2013

Montgomery County, Md., Online Platform Maps Digital Future

Intended to serve as the foundation for Montgomery County's future open government efforts, the county has a new online portal for open data and services.
January 2, 2013

4G, 5G and the Future

As researchers study future generations of wireless mobile technology, the International Telecommunications Union hones existing 4G technology.
December 21, 2012

Greg Wass Brings Collaboration Focus to Illinois

In August, Greg Wass left his position as CIO of Cook County, Ill., to become senior advisor for Gov. Pat Quinn, where he is focused on intergovernmental collaboration and budgetary efficiency.
December 18, 2012

Boston's Reporting App Expands Statewide

Following the city of Boston's Citizens Connect App, the city and Massachusetts announced a shared reporting app that will reach 36 cities and towns.
December 17, 2012

Lydia Murray Leads Collaboration in Cook County, Ill.

Named as Greg Wass' replacement, Murray meets weekly with Chicago CIO Brett Goldstein, and the two agencies have pledged to keep each other in mind for all technology investments going forward.
December 14, 2012

Walkouts Reflect Split on UN Telecommunications Rules

Officials from several countries, including the U.S., walked out during talks at the World Conference on International Telecommunications after several controversial passages were included in the treaty.
December 13, 2012

Steve Reneker Makes a Move to Los Angeles

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that Steve Reneker has been appointed as permanent general manager for the city's Information Technology Agency.
December 6, 2012

North Carolina Archives Social Media

The state's Social Media Archive will eventually be expanded to include more than 130 of the state's social media websites.
December 5, 2012

Internet Blackout in the U.S. Not Likely

Though unlikely, an Internet blackout in the U.S. like the recent abrupt outage in Syria could result in destruction fit for a Hollywood movie.
December 3, 2012

4 Rules 21st Century Architectures Must Follow

The next generation of application architectures in the cloud means IT can focus on the business rather than hardware resources, says Amazon CTO.
November 30, 2012

World Leaders Meet to Assess the Net's Infrastructure

Next month, the world meets in Dubai to discuss the Internet’s future. On the docket: basic questions about sustaining this vital resource.
November 27, 2012

Health Insurance Exchanges Are the Future

The Affordable Care Act is bringing the government up to speed with the marketplace, according to one expert.
November 19, 2012

Denver CIO Leaves City for Private Industry

Denver CIO Chuck Fredrick served his last day in Denver after nearly two years as CIO and interim CIO for the city.
November 16, 2012

Four CIOs Discuss the Future of IT

Technology is now at a place where CIOs can be left to focus on innovating and enabling business units.
November 15, 2012

Increased Data Analytics Could Reduce Deficit By $220 Billion

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council made recommendations that could help not only the federal government, but state and local governments as well.
November 12, 2012

Bicycle Modeling Tool to Aid Infrastructure Development Decisions

California’s Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments is using data collected by a smartphone app to see how proposed bike route changes could affect greenhouse gas emissions.
November 6, 2012

Technology Broadens Reach of 2012 Elections

Voting information reaches ubiquitous status with mobile applications, social media and online balloting for overseas voters.
October 24, 2012

Illinois Open Technology Challenge Seeks Innovative Apps

The challenge will encourage local developers to find uses for data offered through the state's open data platform by offering at least $75,000 in prizes.
October 23, 2012

Report: Hackers Want Easy Targets

A 76 page report outlines new data about hacker attacks and data breaches against state and local governments, and offers recommendations on how to stop them.
October 16, 2012

Northern Border Patrol Agents Get High Tech

A 35-foot Whaler outfitted with radiation detection equipment, sonar gear and infrared scanners allows officials to stop smugglers, human traffickers and terrorists.
September 17, 2012

Obama vs. Romney: Do Their Tech Policies Differ?

The nonpartisan think tank Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report comparing Obama-Biden to Romney-Ryan, point-by-point.
August 24, 2012

1-Person IT Teams Get the Job Done

3 Texas IT leaders discuss working in their small communities.
August 9, 2012

Cellphone Radiation Debate Heats Up

A new bill, a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office, and a court case in San Francisco could point to a changing landscape in the world of cellular regulation.
July 27, 2012

Who Really, Really Invented the Internet?

Recent op-eds have technology experts stirred up about who was the real inventor of the Internet. But Vint Cerf sets the record straight.
July 24, 2012

Kansas City Gets Ready for Google’s Gigabit Network

Google is expected to reveal details this week about its ultra-fast network, as speculation mounts about pricing, service offerings and official launch date.
July 19, 2012

Nobody Wins in Indiana vs. IBM Lawsuit, Judge Says

Gov. Mitch Daniels said state will appeal decision that won’t allow Indiana to collect $437 million from IBM stemming from canceled welfare system modernization project.
July 16, 2012

Florida Gov.: Fed Database Will Help States Scrub Voting Rolls

The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program is a Web-based database that allows agencies to ensure that only those entitled to benefits receive them.
July 9, 2012

Amid Controversy, Baltimore Hires a New CTO

Chris Tonjes formerly worked in various tech-related positions for Washington, D.C.
June 15, 2012

CIOs Play a Big Role in Technology Startups

Technology business incubation might be the hottest trend in government, and CIOs have an important role.

June 6, 2012

Hennepin County, Minn.: Regional Focus Paying Off

From regional hubs for health and human services delivery to multi-county linking of data centers, Hennepin County has a bold and collaborative vision for the future.
May 30, 2012

Napa County, Calif.: Wine Country Sows Seeds for Success

County CIO Jon Gjestvang credits a cooperative spirit that is pushing the local government ahead on mobility, document management and other emerging issues.
May 23, 2012

Bexar County: Where IT Collides with the Alamo

Located in the heart of Texas, San Antonio’s county government is rolling out technology to build for the future, while celebrating its rich history.
May 21, 2012

6 Ways Government Is in the Video Game Business

More and more, government is becoming a gamer.
May 17, 2012

Young Gun to Replace Retiring U.S. Cyber Czar

Howard Schmidt helped define the role of White House cybersecurity coordinator.
May 9, 2012

Roseville, Calif.: A Sleepy Railroad Town Grows Up

A three-hour drive northeast of Apple’s headquarters, the once sleepy suburb of Roseville is becoming high tech too as “One City.”
May 2, 2012

Persistence Pays Off for Chesterfield County, Va.

Top finisher in the Digital Communities Survey credits long-range vision for its success.
May 1, 2012

Is Apple Learning to Love the Enterprise?

Are iPads and iPhones ideal for government settings?
April 30, 2012

The Secret Behind Successful Mobile Apps

States seek to develop new apps that integrate into agencies' existing infrastructure.
April 20, 2012

Wind-Powered Traffic Lights to Get Real-World Testing

Project in Lincoln, Neb., aims to use wind- and solar-powered traffic lights to feed the power grid and provide a backup system in case of power failure.
April 4, 2012

City Hall Fire Brings Tech Upgrade in Michigan

During repairs, Bay City is adding webcasting infrastructure and Cat 6 cables for faster network connections.
March 22, 2012

Secure ID for Massachusetts Police Takes Off

Uniform security features will thwart police impersonators, officials say.
February 27, 2012

2 Nations’ Approaches to Data Center and Email Consolidation

Canada and the U.S. have ambitious targets for technology consolidation — and very different approaches.
January 20, 2012

Super Wi-Fi May Bring Longer-Distance Wireless Internet to More of U.S.

Super Wi-Fi is born out of the FCC’s release of TV white space, and may bring connectivity to rural areas.
November 16, 2011

Los Angeles Gets Wireless Surveillance Cameras

American Civil Liberties Union continues to object to city’s crime camera program.
September 28, 2011

LightSquared and the GPS Industry Struggle to Coexist

Can LightSquared's ambitious new 4G wireless network play nice with vital location services?
September 23, 2011

New Online Service Makes Everyone a County Clerk

Ottawa County, Mich., citizens can order and instantly print out certified documents from the county clerk through a Web interface.
September 15, 2011

Unique Radio Standards Training Debuts in Colorado

Colorado Interoperability Training Program will teach a set of standards that will give public safety professionals a better understanding of radio equipment and a shared language for emergencies and everyday use.
August 17, 2011

Are State CIOs Underpaid?

Jesse Rothstein, associate professor of public policy and economics at the University of California at Berkeley, explained the salary statistics and difference between the private and public sectors.
August 17, 2011

Government CIO Salaries Lag Behind, Contribute to Turnover

Taking less salary to be a public-sector CIO isn’t just about serving the public.
July 14, 2011

New Mexico Human Services Virtualizes After Security Breaches

The New Mexico Human Services Department has exceeded 90 percent virtualization while improving security.
July 6, 2011

Comparing the Next Generation of Police Cars

As Ford’s Crown Victoria drives into the sunset, a new generation of police vehicles will vie for market dominance.
July 6, 2011

New Police Cars Come With Fuel Efficiency Technology

Smaller engines can be made to act like bigger engines as seen with direct fuel injection or turbo chargers. Or larger engines can act like smaller engines as seen with cylinder deactivation.

June 29, 2011

Cheap Wireless Network Pays Off for Asheville, N.C.

Asheville, N.C., saves big money by switching to a $20,000 solution for its city-owned wireless network used by public safety.
June 28, 2011

GIS: City IT Leaders Discuss Geospatial Data's Growing Role

City CIOs are showing what GIS can really do, where data management is headed and how to get there.
April 25, 2011

PlayStation 3 Clusters Providing Low-Cost Supercomputing to Universities

Air Force Research Laboratory’s Condor Supercomputer pays off as researchers publish results in several fields, including astrophysics.
April 14, 2011

Saying Goodbye to the Crown Victoria Police Car Sad for Some

Ford says new Police Interceptor will be more fuel efficient, safer and come with more horsepower under the hood.
April 12, 2011

Can Wind and Solar Energy Power Traffic Lights?

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln research program is trying to build a smart grid of renewable energy capable of reliably powering traffic signals.

March 1, 2011

Red Light Cameras Put States and Locals at Odds

Despite research suggesting that red light cameras save lives, there are movements across the country to ban the cameras.

February 18, 2011

Long-Term Open Source Solutions on Cities’ Radar

The future of open source could point toward sustained community-based efforts over prize-based contests.
January 20, 2011

New York City Website Leads Rise of ‘Business One-Stops’

NYC Business Express among a growing number of government portals aiming to streamline the process of business creation.
November 30, 2010

VoIP and Network Upgraded by Growing ‘Hurricane Alley’ Suburb

Destruction from Hurricane Ike and providing IT infrastructure for a booming suburban population has led one Texas city to overhaul its digital backbone.
November 10, 2010

Council of State Governments Creates New Online Knowledge Center

Website built on the Drupal open source content management system is designed to give policymakers access to policy reports, blog posts and magazine articles based on topic categories.