Mike Steinmetz took office April 17 as Rhode Island’s first cybersecurity officer. Although he has been in this new position for only two months, Steinmetz has developed a network of state officials, academics, and industry experts. He stressed the importance of partners within the private sector and academia.
The Montgomery County Planning Department’s open data map has garnered 455 comments suggesting improvements for Maryland’s bicycle paths. The Bikeway React Map allows people to indicate areas where certain projects, such as separated bike lanes, could be useful. Responders are contributing to the county’s larger Bicycle Master Plan, which aims to improve the bicycle network with features such as cycling lanes and bike storage facilities at transit stations.
St. Louis Alderman Terry Kennedy proposed a bill that would require law enforcement surveillance cameras and program plans to be reviewed by the Board of Aldermen in order to protect citizens’ privacy.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is partnering with Bombardier Transportation to deploy TrackSafe Technology to protect rail workers. According to Federal Transit Administration statistics, between 2003 and 2008, 53 percent of reported rail transit worker fatalities were right-of-way related incidents. Track workers need advance warning of an approaching train, and train operators require […]
Michael Cockrill became CIO of Washington state in 2013. Since then he has worked to streamline the state’s IT organization, help lawmakers understand the technological impact of their public policy decisions, and secure Washington well into the future. In an interview with 21st Century State & Local, Cockrill discussed his role, past achievements, and how Washington’s IT office is becoming more millennial-friendly.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order that seeks to consolidate the state’s IT staff and operations.
The District of Columbia’s utility service released an interactive open data portal to share information regarding DC Water’s operations and projects with the public. The utility service is hoping that increasing transparency will improve customer satisfaction.
During the process of creating the Colorado Trail Explorer, an interactive open data map providing information on 17,000 trails, Colorado’s Department for Parks and Wildlife sent out a call for information from all 221 of the state’s trail managers. The map, launched on June 2, contains data submissions from 90 of those managers.
AT&T was awarded a $6.5 billion contract to build and operate the nationwide network FirstNet. However, the legislation that authorizes FirstNet also authorizes a state to develop its own alternative on the spectrum carved out for the network, as long as the alternative is interoperable with the FirstNet core.
Money is the single biggest barrier to local governments achieving the highest levels of cybersecurity. From not being able to pay competitive salaries to an insufficient number of cybersecurity staff, local governments are unable to deliver cybersecurity protection because their budgets don’t match their tasks.
