Pennsylvania

The millions in cost savings resulted from modernization of legacy technologies and smart financial management, state officials said. New funding in the 2025-2026 budget will strengthen IT and cybersecurity.

Heidi Norman, who has served as permanent CIO of Pittsburgh since 2022, and in other roles with the city since 2017, has departed at the request of the city’s incoming mayoral administration.

Middlesex Township Planning Commission members voted to recommend the approval of plans creating internal lot lines for the project, now known as Pennsylvania Digital 1.

State CIO Bryanna Pardoe was previously the inaugural director of the state’s digital experience office. That work is shaping her approach to leading state IT and driving human-centered design.

The $11.5 million allotment for the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience is intended to support single sign-on access, website upgrades and broader modernization across agencies.

The average data center requires a power supply of 100 megawatts, an Akron-based company told Pennsylvania utility regulators, and that’s more than four times the energy load of the University of Pittsburgh.

The state’s acting CIO Bryanna Pardoe helmed its digital experience office until October. She has since been selected to lead technology efforts and serve as deputy secretary for information technology.

With new data centers expected to drastically increase power consumption in the coming years, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission proposed a tariff model for electricity providers to impose on large-load customers.

An analysis by PennLive found that the state's two largest cyber schools are substantially less transparent than similarly sized traditional school districts, while some smaller cyber charters are even more transparent.

Inundated with parent interest in a virtual schooling option, Commonwealth Charter Academy hasn't been too concerned about transparency or responsiveness in its board meetings, according to some parents and staff.

Cyber criminals who stole data from the University of Pennsylvania wrote an email crudely criticizing its admissions, alleging the university "love[s] legacies, donors, and unqualified affirmative action admits."

The Cooperative Agreement for Artificial Intelligence Advising Services enables collaboration between the state and the University of Pennsylvania, with the latter advising the government on AI.

Some former employees of Commonwealth Charter Academy say they were asked to develop online curricula that could be sold to other states rather than focusing on Pennsylvania's standards and history.

Some current and former staff at Commonwealth Charter Academy said it started to feel more like a business focused on convincing parents to enroll new students than a school focused on their academic performance.

An independent monitor has asked federal officials to ensure consumers don’t get stuck with the bill if the electric grid can’t handle power needs of a massive data center planned for Bucks County, Pa.

Officials from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, formerly opposed to any top-down mandate from the state, were among those who gave testimony in support of a “bell-to-bell” ban, with limited exceptions.

At a recent AI summit, Shapiro said Pennsylvania is taking a leading role in the country and around the world when it comes to AI and fostering collaborations between academia, industry and government.

As technology has increasingly affected nearly every part of daily life, the Scranton Police Department has kept up, using tools to facilitate training, improve public safety and hasten communication.