Philadelphia

For campus safety, Philadelphia School District is installing metal detectors, launching surveillance drones, buying a video-management system for its cameras, and enhancing police presence and community patrols.

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.

Plus, more state leaders react to recent federal funding decisions on broadband, the National Tribal Telecommunications Association will hold an event in August, and more.

The city of Philadelphia announced that Chief Information Officer Mark Wheeler is leaving the city, and Chief Operating Officer Sandra Carter has officially started serving as interim CIO this week.

Existing data gaps related to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community must be understood and addressed in order for government agencies to equitably serve the needs of constituents regardless of identity.

Plus, a new report looks at what digital inclusion efforts are lacking, a pair of organizations are partnering to promote broadband careers to students and more.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is looking for a new fare system after more than a decade with its current vendor. Officials are looking for an “open architecture” option that can be more easily adapted to future needs.

The city of Philadelphia has launched an interactive dashboard to make the city’s campaign finance data available and accessible to members of the public, the media, researchers and candidates.

Following the departure of the director of innovation, the city’s Innovation Management Team’s leadership is changing. The mission of supporting city departments in their innovation work, however, will remain the same.

The Metro plan would use one-of-a-kind and much cheaper battery-powered light rail to connect West Chester Borough to downtown Philadelphia. Cutting-edge, fast-charging battery technology with a 60-mile range is envisioned.

As private-sector technology companies continue to announce layoffs, state and local government agencies looking for workers to bolster the public-sector workforce may be able to hire some of the skilled talent.

Plus, federal lawmakers introduce multiple pieces of legislation related to boosting the nation's broadband infrastructure, Texas moves forward with its own broadband availability map, and more.

Staff at the Black Doctors Consortium emphasized that getting any child vaccinated was a win, but echo other experts who say that as the focus on COVID has waned, old inequities are reasserting themselves.