Local Government

The MTA’s OMNY payment system could reveal your trip history to anyone who has your credit card number — and cybersecurity experts said Wednesday the setup might threaten your privacy.

Aumentum Technologies and InvoiceCloud, an online bill payment service, announced an integration designed to improve county tax collections. The move reflects larger trends in the public space.

The city of Philadelphia has launched a two-year pilot project that makes free transit passes available to its more than 20,000 employees. The program promises a wealth of data and a lifeline to public transit.

White paint already has a track record of cooling urban areas, but a new twist on it could make it even more effective. An ultra-white coating can reflect just over 98 percent of sunlight, cooling surface temperatures.

In the wake of the NYC Open Data Help Desk reaching the major data milestone of 10,000 inquiries since its inception, Chief Analytics Officer Martha Norrick shared her thoughts on the progress and what’s next.

The NYPD plans to start piloting drones over certain crime scenes across the five boroughs, in some cases pairing the technology with the department's ongoing ShotSpotter technology.

Proterra Inc., the South Carolina-based maker of all-electric transit buses, has filed for bankruptcy, leaving city transit agencies to wonder if their plans to introduce electric fleets will have to wait even longer.

Two data center applications have been filed in Stafford County, both in the Falmouth District. A meeting has been set for this week to discuss the projects and what they could mean for the surrounding community.

Speed camera violations dropped 30 percent citywide in the past 12 months, the first year in which the law allowed the cameras to issue automated tickets 24/7. Traffic fatalities also dropped, according to DOT data.

While it makes sense that a big, well-staffed data operation gets a lot done, there's strategy and art that go into to the work done at the Dallas Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence.

The Fiber Smart House is a collaboration between the city of Gary and a national telecommunications development firm. The new facility will include a training space and will be a network operations center and fiber access point for large networks.

Bans intended to stop victims from paying cyber criminals and cut off lucrative profit streams bring plenty of practical difficulties and risks that attackers will redouble focus on the most vulnerable entities.

Damian Oravez takes over as chief information security officer after working a similar position at Philadelphia International Airport for four years. The move comes after the city appointed an interim CIO in June.

The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors this week authorized a sheriff’s department grant application for $50,000, which will be used to purchase and install a software program for tracking criminal and gang activity data.

A report published this week by the nonprofit civic engagement organization MapLight lays out several strategies that can be implemented by local government agencies to improve civic engagement.

The proposed extension of a half-cent sales tax that would generate $205 million prompted city officials to launch a website to showcase the various projects the tax would fund, including workforce development, street maintenance and more.

Experts argue that agencies having staff dedicated to equity and inclusion play an important role for government work, from strategic planning, to operations, to the rise of digital government services.

As global heat waves continue, focus increases on ways to ease the pain of all those extremely high temperatures. But will cities and states actually spend more money on climate — and how can tech sellers respond?