California

Veteran county CIO Tim Dupuis marked his last day in place Friday before heading to retirement. The Board of Supervisors named Chief Technology Officer Ram Gurumurthy as interim CIO.

A new type of artificial intelligence is helping city governments spot problems like potholes faster and with more accuracy than ever before, but government must maintain traditional privacy standards.

An attack that has left the city largely paralyzed is now in its fifth day, with no end in sight, as the City Council announced a special session in part to adopt a resolution of a state of emergency.

The director of the California Department of Technology and state CIO since June 2022 will be stepping down after a 38-year career. That included guiding CDT’s on-the-ground response to the 2025 wildfires.

A partnership between California Northstate University and MindHYVE.ai Inc. will integrate agentic AI to tailor coursework and upskill instructors. It’s the latest such initiative from a health science university.

Senate Bill 707 mandates that larger cities and counties provide options for remote participation in public meetings by July 1, among other requirements related to translation and teleconferencing for elected officials.

The California Cradle-to-Career Data System, already used to track education and career markers, will now connect with CalKIDS and community college data to connect students with scholarship opportunities.

Lea Eriksen, who has been serving as director of the Department of Technology and Innovation for the Southern California city, will become the next senior assistant city manager in Culver City.

Public records requests reveal that more than 20,000 public comments submitted in opposition to a proposal around gas appliances were generated by a company called CiviClick.

The Secretary of State seeks $9.8 million from the state budget for the ongoing project. A request for proposals is expected this spring to refresh the legacy platform used by more than 146,000 notaries.

Called Civiq, the platform assembles in one color-coded place voter registration info, past election results, campaign finance totals, census details and other public data sets related to elections.

With the exception of UC San Diego, the University of California system is seeing a downward trend in undergraduate computer science majors amid looming questions about AI and traditional career paths in the field.

Amy Tong, the former director of the California Department of Technology and state CIO for more than five years, was most recently senior counselor to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Her last day in the role was Jan. 31.

The Woodland City Council renewed a $300,000 contract with Flock Safety for automatic license plate readers this week, despite concerns from residents about privacy and data security.

As part of a statewide push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, California launched a voucher program aimed at helping residents purchase e-bikes, but there have been problems.

If the measure is placed on the ballot and voters OK it, it would require companies to adopt a set of requirements aimed at protecting minors from potentially harmful effects associated with AI use.

The impending departures on the same day in March, of Alameda County’s CIO and assistant CIO, will close a chapter in the local government’s technology history. Both have been in place since 2012.

A recent promotion through the state-funded CalKIDS initiative highlights how the state of California is using education savings accounts to address technology access for students.