Local Government

The Big Apple should become the “crypto capital of the globe,” according to Mayor Eric Adams. That means using digital coins to pay for city services and taxes, and blockchain for use with birth and death records.

If approved, the state’s 2025-2026 proposed budget would fund pilots in Forsyth and Guilford counties to enable remote driver’s license renewals. Options could include home visits or third-party assistance.

Emergency dispatch officials in Fairbanks, Alaska, the interior’s most populous city, have moved to a cloud-based communications platform for increased resiliency. Doing so enables staff to work remotely if needed.

Officials in the resort town have launched the AI-powered chatbot as part of an effort to improve visitors’ digital user experience. The site’s Public Meetings Portal has also been revamped to enable quicker browsing.

Following a ransom attack in late March that prompted the county to take systems including Wi-Fi, jail databases and court records offline for days, the local government will transition to a .gov website in early June.

County planning commissioners have signed off on a site plan for three buildings at a data center complex — with concerns about noise. The four-building site will use concrete walls as part of a solution to muffle sound.

Waymo has gotten a green light to run its autonomous vehicle fleet in nearly all of San Jose, marking the first time in the city's history that a commercial driverless service can operate on its streets.

W. Schad Meldrum has retired as IT director in the capital city after 25 years of public service. An interim has been elevated from within the organization, and leaders are considering his permanent replacement.

Administrative systems at the county 911 center were impacted by a cybersecurity incident, though radio communications and certain dispatch functions were unaffected. Officials are taking steps to contain the issue.

After more than a decade in roles at the city, Chris Craig was recently ratified by the Las Vegas City Council as the municipality's new director of the Innovation and Technologies Department.

The Denver City Council is poised to adopt new rules for shared electronic scooters that would add parking requirements in some places while also ushering in a ban on sidewalk riding.

The grant, which would have benefitted the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, led by Southern Research, has been cancelled. The award followed its 2023 designation as one of 31 federal Tech Hubs, setting the stage for funding.

After hearing hours of comments from more than 50 residents, the Chesapeake Planning Commission denied a proposal for the city’s first large-scale data center. The project still could be greenlit by the City Council.

Its Board of Commissioners is examining a system that could result in the county being able to reduce its full-time hours. One idea still under discussion is the duration of a potential contract.

Darwin, an artificial intelligence-focused startup, has released a free tool that agencies can use to spark AI development. The move comes as lawmakers and other officials pay increased attention to AI.

Officials have agreed to spend nearly $1 million on electronic voter check-in systems that will enable virtual sign-language services for deaf voters. Each polling place will have at least two tablets with the software.

The district attorney’s office in Fort Bend County is investigating the Feb. 24 breach of the county’s library system, which led to $2.6 million in contracts with cybersecurity companies. Some library systems are still down.

The local government may limit data center development, holding it to an area in and near White Oak Technology park in eastern Henrico. Should this happen, data centers elsewhere would need supervisors’ approval.