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Best of California Winners Honored by Center for Digital Government

Best of California winners gather in Sacramento.

Sacramento, Calif. - Three projects captured "Most Innovative Use of Technology" awards at the Center for Digital Government's 2007 Best of California event in December.

First was the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center (LARTMC), a facility jointly used by the California Department of Transportation District 7, the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The LARTMC integrates more than 25 technologies, enabling transportation agencies to share real-time traffic information. The project helps agencies calculate vehicle travel times, adjust ramp-metering rates, issue Amber Alerts and detect accidents.

State officials claim the project reduced traffic incidents by 40 percent, improved ambulance arrival times by 15 percent and decreased freeway delays by 30 percent.

The second award went to the Sacramento Police Department's Mobile Automated License Plate Reader, which uses digital cameras mounted in police cruisers to read cars' license plates. In seconds, the reader checks license plates against a database of stolen vehicles, lost plates, missing persons' vehicles and autos reported in Amber Alerts. An officer reads more than 3,000 plates in a typical patrol shift, according to Sacramento police.

The third award went to Riverside for its SmartRiverside Digital Inclusion Program. The nonprofit SmartRiverside aims to provide free Internet access and a free refurbished PC to each of the city's estimated 30,000 low-income households over the next five years. So far, the agency has given more than 800 households computer training, as well as a PC and wireless access device for Riverside's municipal Wi-Fi network.

 

Best of California Winners

Leadership Awards
Management of IT: Steve Reneker, CIO, Riverside.


Solving Business and Policy Problems through Technology: Linda M. Dippel, director, Contra Costa County Dept. of Child Support Services.


Project Delivery: Ron Ohling, data processing manager II, Calif. Employment Development Dept.


Rapid Project Delivery: ExpressJet Airline Launch Team, Sacramento County Airport System.


IT Operations, Support and Service: J6 Staff, Calif. National Guard; K.C. Roestenberg, director, Business IT Shared Services, Orange County.


Solving Business and Policy Problems through Security Technology: Secure WAN Consolidation Team, Calif. Dept. of Health Care Services.

 
Project Excellence
Best Application Serving Organization Business Objectives: Agile Payment System, Calif. Controller's Office; MESH Network, Ripon and Web-based Solid Waste Information Management System, L.A. County Dept. of Public Works.


Serving the Public: Online Inmate Information and Jail Visit Scheduling System, Santa Clara County; DMV Service Enhancements.


Serving Multiple Jurisdictions or Organizations: Boomerang - Calif. Retirees Job Connection, Calif. Franchise Tax Board and State and Consumer Services Agency; Calif. WebTools, eServices Office, Dept. of Technology Services, the Information Organization, Usability, Currency and Accessibility Working Group, and State Webmasters; CaRES Calif. Compensation and Restitution System, Calif. Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board; Welfare Client Data Systems CalWIN, consortium of 18 Calif. counties.

Andy Opsahl is a former staff writer and features editor for Government Technology magazine.