Digital Services
Online utility payments, tax remittance, business licenses, digital forms and e-signatures — state and local governments are moving more and more paper-based services to the Internet. Includes coverage of agencies modernizing and digitizing processes such as pet registration, permitting, motor vehicle registration and more.
Pennsylvania voters have access to a state ballot tracking system. But some officials and observers wonder if a more comprehensive system might have explained why 268 ballots were delayed last fall.
State Attorney General Anthony Brown this week unveiled the site for residents to let authorities know about hate crimes and hate bias incidents. Reports can be filed anonymously.
Plus, the FCC is updating its broadband data collection process, Texas has launched a dashboard on public library Internet speeds, Louisiana is offering online skills training, and more.
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned against hackers affiliated with Iran and China who could sabotage drinking and wastewater resources — attacks it said are increasing in severity and frequency.
The commitment from St. Tammany Parish will connect an area between Covington and Folsom, part of a plan to significantly boost Internet access to rural areas across the north shore of the Gulf.
The Cuyahoga County Overdose Prevention App is designed to keep drug users safe by connecting them to someone who can stay in contact until they’re out of danger of overdosing. It was developed through a state opioid response grant.
The city of San Jose has adopted an AI-powered translation tool to improve accessibility at City Council meetings for people who primarily speak a language other than English. It may see wider use, depending upon its performance thus far.
The My Whitfield community mobile app offers details on area housing, careers and events as well as links to regional municipal websites. It was developed in partnership between the county, the city of Dalton, and civic organizations.
A proposed law requiring parental consent for people under age 16 to open a social media account passed the state’s House of Representatives with bipartisan support. It heads to the state Senate, where a similar bill has been tabled.
A cyber attack has impacted most of the health-care provider’s 139 hospitals nationwide. In Wichita, Kan., hospitals were still diverting emergency patients Thursday morning. The company has hired a third-party expert to help investigate.
