Local Government

Savvy journalists flagging unreliable content, trusted local practitioners spreading truthful information, and AI tools charting the spread of manipulated narratives are being levied in the fight against misinformation.

Some officials are urging a return to city council meetings with an audience in attendance, while others are testing a hybrid approach of in-person and online meetings as pandemic restrictions ease nationwide.

Plus, the Colorado Broadband Office is planning to connect more than 99 percent of households in the state, Arizona is investing $68.1 million in connectivity, and lawmakers ask the FCC to translate broadband labels.

As Russian military forces carry out their mission in Ukraine, the President Vladimir Putin has promised “consequences” for nations that interfere. U.S. officials have warned this could come in the form of cyber attacks.

An independent investigation into the deletion of millions of police department case files found that the employee responsible did not have adequate training to handle that sort of data migration.

Local jurisdictions should consider developing electric vehicle charging plans to compete for federal grants designed to expand EV charging in not only major corridors but also cities and counties.

The city of Beaufort's first expenditure of $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds will include the more than $145,000 in cybersecurity enhancements. Upward of $400,000 will be put toward police car and body camera technology.

Nigel Jacob, co-founder of the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, has announced his departure from his role with the city to share the model with new cities. He now holds the title of mechanic emeritus.

The new crime center has access to around 1,700 cameras throughout the parish, a combination of traffic cameras, surveillance cameras from multiple law enforcement agencies and private security cameras.

The state's third most populous county has changed its .com domain to a .gov domain in the hopes of thwarting election misinformation. The county appears to be the first in the Denver metro area to make the change.

As government call centers grapple with the nationwide staffing shortage and an influx in demand, some are implementing artificial intelligence tools to improve wait times and accessibility for callers.

The Hamilton Town Council has approved up to $36,000 to replace computers, software and a public works vehicle. Officials say around $16,000 of the funds will be needed to replace town computers and accounting software.

County government officials in Southern California say they are pushing back against millions of hacking attempts each year. In 2020 alone, Riverside County saw more than 150 million hacking attempts on its network.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced last week his state would accept cryptocurrency for tax payments by this summer. We discuss whether the move is all hype, or if there's something more to it.

Los Alamitos is the latest city to join a surveillance network that captures license plates in Orange County, Calif. Critics have raised concerns about how agencies uphold people's rights while using such tech.

A new study by Pittsburghers for Public Transit indicates that former Mayor Bill Peduto and his administration overlooked transportation options for everyone in favor of ideas for higher-income individuals.

The company’s software helps governments fill in gaps in their public transportation programs via services that resemble Uber. Los Angeles recently partnered with RideCo to boost transit options.

As part of a legal settlement, the Baltimore Police Department and Persistent Surveillance Systems, the company that supported the department's spy plane program, will delete all spy data unless it involves an open case.