Local Government

A partnership with Verizon is expected to bring high-speed Internet to four townships in Pennslvania’s Westmoreland County. The areas of the state’s second most populous county currently lack service.

The shuttle, which operated in downtown, was taken out of service after a crash Nov. 4. A review determined human error prompted it to move into the path of another bus. Test runs restarted Tuesday.

The Syracuse, N.Y., Office of Analytics, Performance and Innovation and its partnership with the Department of Public Works demonstrates the cascading effects of what happens when traditional services go digital.

Federal agencies must transition to zero-trust cybersecurity postures by September of this year. Establishing a similar deadline for state and local agencies would spur action to lock down systems.

Officials at Eau Claire County, Wis., have debuted a new dashboard that displays “up to the minute information” on weather, fires and related events. Issues identified in an update of the county Hazard Mitigation Plan also will be incorporated.

The Chelan County Public Utility District, which serves around 50,000 customers, said the incident kept a nationwide vendor from mailing and emailing statements last week. It’s unclear whether personal information was compromised.

AT&T has asked the California Public Utilities Commission to drop it as a “carrier of last resort,” which requires it to provide landline service in its coverage area. San Mateo County supervisors question the impacts to 911 and emergency services.

The city will contract with San Francisco-based micromobility firm Spin for as many as 100 e-scooters and 50 e-bicycles. The devices are already available on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

The 20-year contract will enable the purchase of solar photovoltaic energy and battery storage from Bonanza Solar. It moves the city closer to sourcing electricity from carbon-free sources by the end of 2030 and replacing coal-fired energy.

Australia-based Pulse focuses on public-sector human resources management. Springbrook will use the tech to help local governments better manage hiring and onboarding, in a time of gov tech staffing shortages.

A $6.7 million grant from the California Air Resources Board will fund implementation of El Monte’s Clean Mobility Nexus and enable purchase of electric buses and charging systems, as well as vehicles.

Austin plans to fully electrify its bike-share fleet, in addition to increasing the number of bikes and docking stations. This is in line with other cities and the broader trend of electrifying bicycle fleets.

The plan to upgrade Fulton County, Ga.’s internal software system is being sped up following a recent ransomware attack. Commissioners have approved a $10.2 million overhaul of the county’s internal software system.

After a malware attack last week, the city of Coeur d'Alene's website is back online. The malicious code was first discovered Feb. 11, and affected systems were taken offline as the city worked to secure and restore services.

Mark Wong, the longtime director of technology for the city and county of Honolulu, plans to retire at the end of the year, according to officials with Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s office.

Members of the National Association of Counties were in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend funding for a program providing subsidies to help low-income households afford broadband Internet service.

A new proposal in the state Legislature could claw back $40 million in local government cybersecurity grants. The move would be a substantial blow to the state’s Local Government Cybersecurity Grant program.

The countdown clock on a website containing screenshots of information stolen from Fulton County, Ga., servers two weeks ago hit zero on Friday, and then mysteriously disappeared.