The Municipal Reference Radar

A Well-Deserved Hiatus

2009-06-09T12:48:00.005-04:00

If you hadn't already guessed, we're in a bit of flux right now. That, and with summer here, we'll be taking a short hiatus and won't be posting for a while.

Please do check in with us again soon. Thanks!

Cyberspace Policy Review, Basic Needs Budget Calculator, and more

2009-06-01T12:01:00.012-04:00

The New York Times has an article looking at a new research paper, "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness.”

The Brookings Institution has a new policy brief, "Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America."

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has released "an oversight report called “Washed out to Sea” that details how billions of federal dollars have been wasted on beach nourishment projects while critical infrastructure needs go unmet." See the press release or full report for more. Yes, VB is mentioned on pg. 33.

The National Center for Educational Statistics has released its 2009 Condition of Education.

Docuticker has some good links to resources regarding the White House's Cyberspace Policy Review.

Docuticker also points to the National Center for Children in Poverty and their fact sheet, "Measuring Poverty in the United States." See also their Basic Needs Budget Calculator. Note that only select locations are included.

CEOs for Cities blogs about SPUR, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association.

The New York Times also writes about the city's new street design manual.

Another NYT article looks at the cost-saving strategies being used by local governments, from consolidation to resource sharing and more.
The Boston Globe reports on one city's new measures to attract biomedical companies to their area.

"Biking is the new golf," Cost of Obesity, the 2009 Hurricane Outlook, and more

2009-05-26T15:18:00.010-04:00

CEO for Cities blogs about the cost of obesity in America and its connection to city planning and also gives kudos to NYC's Transportation Commissioner, who is quoted as saying "Biking is the new golf."
The Hampton Roads Partnership blogs about the Commonwealth Transportation Board's Draft 2015 Six-Year Improvement Plan.
Docuticker points to a new Pew Internet & American Life Project report on Americans' use of online classifieds.
Another item from Pew is a presentation on how video games can teach teens to be good citizens.
The Congressional Budget Office Director recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on the Budget on "the State of the Economy."
NOAA has released its hurricane outlook for this season. See their press release or the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Outlook for more.
Free Government Information blogs about the U.S. Government YouTube channel.
Government Technology reports that the Data.gov is now live. On a related note, the National Academy of Public Administration has a website for submitting your ideas to them on improving government transparency.

Sustainability, An Aging America, and more

2009-05-21T13:44:00.000-04:00

AARP has new research on the need for transportation planners to consider older adults as that population increases rapidly. See "Planning Complete Streets for an Aging America" for more.
Docuticker points to a new Dept. of Energy report, "Storage of Captured Carbon Dioxide Beneath Federal Lands." See the press release for more.
The CBO Director’s Blog has a post on a new CBO report, "Alternatives for Modernizing U.S. Fighter Forces."

Business Week reports on wearable gear as the next evolution of mobile devices.

On a related note, AppScout.com reports on a new study that indicates that "more than half of all mobile device users are getting content on at least a weekly basis..."

Government Technology reports on the Los Angeles Housing Department's use of an online interactive map to track properties in foreclosure.

GT also reports on the NYPD's purchase on 40 new Nissan Altima Hybrid vehicles to its fleet.

Marketplace reports that San Francisco may become the first city in the U.S. to make composting mandatory.

Volutourism, The Public Sphere project, Green Wheel video, the Delete-O-Meter, and more

2009-05-18T11:40:00.020-04:00

Stateline.org points to a Business Week article about how the economic downturn is forcing some police departments to reduce costs through departmental mergers, consolidations, and more.

ICMA points to a Washington Post article on Montgomery County, MD's plans to use parking meters that accept payment via cell phone.

The Hampton Roads Partnership points to an article on Norfolk's "Public Art Earn and Learn" program which opens its public parking garages to art projects.

VirginiaDem.com points to the new Broadband Availability map now available via the state's Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance.

The International Center for Civic Engagement has a brief blog post about a new "voluntourism" program developed by Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Through a post at Acidlabs.org I discovered OpenAustralia.org and The Public Sphere project established by Australian Senator Kate Lundy.

Online Community Engagement blogs about the use of video to facilitate civic engagement and provides a cross-section of examples.

Mark Drapeau has a great post at Online Marketing for Marketers about how Governmetn 2.0 could transform government PR.

OhMyGov blogs about government agencies taking advantage of SaaS, or cloud computing, to integrate web 2.0 tools into their organizations. Also check out the Transportation Security Administration's blog, Evolution of Security, that's highlighted in the blog post. Another REALLY COOL feature is their Delete-O-Meter- a feature added in the name of transparency. Way to go!

CityRyde Bike Sharing Blog posts about a video from the MIT Mobile Experience Lab. Very cool stuff. Enjoy!

Green Wheel - Smart Mobility & Ubiquitous Computing from MIT Mobile Experience Lab on Vimeo.

Transparency 2.0, Citizen's Briefing Book, the Cost of Bad Roads, and more

2009-05-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

Stateline.org points to a Washington Post article on President Obama's executive order giving the EPA more authority over the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay.
Jessamyn West at Librarian.net posts a link to a First Mondays article that provides a good overview of cloud computing, "Where is the cloud? Geography, economics, environment, and jurisdiction in cloud computing."

The O'Reilly Radar writes about a new Microsoft service, Vine, "a public-service tool that will be especially useful during disasters."
CEO for Cities blogs about an article in The Daily Green about the potential uses of soon-to-be vacant car dealerships.
Docuticker points to a new report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), indicating that "[d]rivers living in urban areas with populations over 250,000 are paying upwards of $750 more annually because of accelerated vehicle deterioration, increased maintenance, additional fuel consumption, and tire wear caused by poor road conditions." See also the press release for a summary.
Docuticker also points to a Brookings Institution report, "The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs."
The White House Office of Public Engagement has released the Citizen's Briefing Book, a compilation of ideas from citizens, not top officials.
Free Government Information blogs about a recent article on transparency 2.0 that was posted at Internet Evolution.

Adult Literacy, Open Source, School Readiness, VA wind farms?, and more

2009-05-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

Business Week has an article on the growing debate over the economic impact of immigrants.

Governing reports on a recent survey of city websites, with Washington DC at the top, followed by Portland, Ore., New York, New Orleans and Los Angeles.

The Christian Science Monitor has an article on the latest National Assessment of Adult Literacy from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The May 2009 issue of The Open Source Business Resource focuses on open source in government.

The folks at Commoncraft have MANY short instruction videos on all types of topics. The latest is The World Wide Web in Plain English. Check out their YouTube channel for a list of what else is available.

The Portals and KM blog discusses a post at the Blog Herald, "20 Law-Related Questions Every Blogger Should Know."
Docuticker points to two recent publications from the Education Commission of the States, including their International Benchmarking Toolkit and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and ECS issued report — Linking Ready Kids to Ready Schools.

Docuticker also points to recent testimony by the Congressional Budget Office Director, "The Distribution of Revenues from a Cap-and-Trade Program for CO2 Emissions."

And mark your calendars for this Thursday from 7-9pm. There will be a public forum at Town Center regarding the potential of offshore wind energy. Check out the City's news release for details.

Civic Engagement initiatives, Education research, Gov 2.0 bytes, and more

2009-05-08T08:59:00.000-04:00

Business Week features a post by GigaOM about whether videoconferencing and whether it's as cost-saving and environmentally friendly as it's made out to be.

ICMA points to a Washington Post article on Fairfax County's use of Twitter to send out information and interact with citizens. To keep up with all levels of government on Twitter, check out the NEW GovTwit directory that'll be launched May 11th.

ICMA also points to the latest Transit Savings Report just released by the American Public Transportation Association, which finds that "[r]iding public transportation can save an individual an average of $8,691 a year based on the May 5, 2009 national average gas price and the unreserved monthly parking rate..."

OhMyGov! reports on local governments who are "embracing debt forgiveness" because of the current economy- from forgiving parking tickets to overdue library fines, etc.

Stateline.org points to a new iPhone App for following Arkansas' use of federal stimulus money. See the post at Politics in Arkansas for more.
Docuticker points to an AARP research paper on "recareering in later life."
Another tip from Docuticker is the new report by the the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults: A State-by-State Look at Adult Health, which indicates that "adults with less education are more likely to be in less than very good health than college graduates, and adults in every state fall far short of the level of good health that should be achievable for all Americans."
A Pew Center on the States study finds that "the majority of the nation’s governors are increasing or protecting their state’s investments in pre-kindergarten programs in the coming fiscal year." Good news! Meanwhile, however, a new study by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution indicates that "infants and toddlers are underrepresented in the federal budget."
Also on the education front are the results of a recent student poll by Gallup and America's Promise Alliance indicates that "more than one-third of students surveyed in grades 5 – 12 are struggling or suffering, and half (50 percent) are not hopeful..." See the press release by the American Association of School Administrators or the project's website for more.
Yet another link from Docuticker takes us to the New America Foundation's State Climate Policy Tracker spreadsheet, which shows progress being made in 33 states. Although many action items are listed for Virginia, no status or projected estimates are included. Most information came from the state's Climate Change website. While there, be sure to check out the Governor's Commission on Climate Change's final report released in December.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has a new analysis of real-estate owned (REO) properties which shows the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA to have a "suburban REO to mortgageable property ratio" of 1.08 - only one of 11 MSAs to have a ratio higher than 1.0.
The American Library Association reports that PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a new guide on deliberative democracy that "provides a detailed description of how local civic engagement has grown and developed over the past decade." See the report, “Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance,” or the press release for details.
On a related note, Nova Scotia's Democracy 250 initiative has an interesting report on civic engagement among its young adults and offers recommendations for "engaging more young Nova Scotians in the democratic process." See the report, Is Anyone Listening?, for more.
The California State Library and VolunteerMatch.org have partnered to develop a new initiative called Get Involved: Powered by Your Library, aimed at increasing civic engagement activities and volunteerism at public libraries. See the press release to learn more or visit the project's website. Very cool!

TwHistory, Air Force/Social Media, OhMyGov!, and more

2009-05-06T09:45:00.014-04:00

Business Week has a good overview of the potential use of stimulus money to assist all libraries in providing high-speed internet access to the public.

Another BW article looks at the growing corporate acceptance of iPhones.
Free Government Information blogs about a great project that puts history in contemporary contexts by communicating stories via Twitter. As their motto goes, "those who forget history are doomed to retweet it." Priceless!

OBSNews.com reports that Sacremento has started an "Open Town Hall" to allow citizens to voice opinions and ask questions online. The City is using Peak Democracy for this web-based public comment service and the forums are hosted via The Sacremento Bee's website. Nice!

The British blog, Local Government Engagement Online Research, recently highlighted a new video by the Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Emerging Technology Division that "shows how our Airmen are using social media to stay informed and inform others..." Does anyone know if the military's block on most of these web 2.0 tools is still in effect? See their New Media webpage to see what else they offer. Well, anyways, here's the video - enjoy!

And be sure to also check out their instructional guide, New Media and the Air Force, for great information, guidelines for use, and best practices.

OhMyGov! blogs about the rise of Colorado's wind turbine manufacturing plants and says that the state is "fast becoming America’s role model for a 'New Energy Economy.'" Read more via the New York Times article they cite.

Innovation, Global Warming, GovFresh.com, and more

2009-05-05T09:43:00.017-04:00

A local blogger reports being flown to Texas by the American Petroleum Institute to learn more about offshore drilling.

CEO for Cities blogs about a new competition in Cincinnati to encourage entrepreneurial innovation. See the Cincinnati Innovates website for more.

Free Government Information blogs about an all-in-one RSS feed for information from the U.S. government called GovFresh.com.

Greenbiz.com blogs about stimulus money being used to create the Clean Cities initative, which "aims to support at least 30 alternative fuels and advanced vehicles projects. Among the technologies that can be funded are anything from natural gas and biofuels to plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell power sources for a range of vehicles. Some of the funds can also be applied to public awareness and training programs around alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure. " Another initiative mentioned is the National Council of Black Mayors' "Green the City" initiative.

The Congressional Budget Office Director blogs about a new research paper that looks at the potential impact of global warming in the U.S.

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), with support from the MacArthur Foundation, has a new report, Leadership for Web 2.0 in Education: Promise & Reality.

PSFK blogs about a sculpture in Sweden that was created to promote alternative transportation, commissioned by a local airport bus company. A nice visual reminder of just how many cars would be off the road if more people used buses and other forms of mass transit.
Mashable points to an article in Slate where Farhad Manjoo writes about how he stopped using RSS feeds to monitor the news and now uses his own web searching system to much more efficiency. What, no RSS feeds?!? ;)

MediaPost News reported on Friday that "California lawmakers, in a 10-3 vote by the governmental organization committee, rejected a de facto ban on digital billboards in the state Thursday. The panel did not accept claims that digital billboards were unsafe -- a victory for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the Motion Picture Association and the California Travel Industry, which opposed the legislation."

Information Needs of Communities, Twitterers, State of the Air report, and more

2009-05-01T11:25:00.024-04:00

Harvard's Government Innovators Network points to a Wall Street Journal article about how a local community development authority in Cleveland purchased foreclosed homes with a vision for an "artist community."

Last week, California's Air Resources Board approved new low-carbon fuel standards, which calls "for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from California's transportation fuels by ten percent by 2020." See the press release, the new regulation, or the video about this new standard.
And for those interested, the CDC is using Twitter for updates about the Swine Flu. See also their Swine Flu webpage for updates.
The Spring 2009 issue of Cable in the Classroom's Threshold Magazine focuses on participatory culture, social media, and learning. One article of interest is on using web 2.0 tools for enhancing civics education and civic engagement, "'Geeking Out' on Democracy."
The MediaShift blog at PBS posts about the PBS Engage project done in conjunction with the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. Interesting stuff! Read more about it at the Huffington Post.
BlogHer announced this week that, in conjunction with iVillage and Compass Partners, they have released the results of their second annual Women and Social Media Study.
The American Public Transportation Association has released a report that indicates that "investing in public transportation provides jobs to the American workers who may need them the most." See the press release or full report for details.
The American Lung Association have made available its 2009 State of the Air report.
The White House blogs that it's now on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter - among other sites. News this week reported that even the U.S. Army is tweeting. Also check out TweetCongress.org to locate and follow your congressmen/women on Twitter.
Stateline.org points to a New York Times article about Tennessee's Comptroller, who "plans on Friday to propose a sweeping overhaul of the way the municipal bond market is regulated in the state."

Climate Change, Green Jobs, the Talent Dividend, and more

2009-04-30T11:40:00.000-04:00

Stateline.org reports on the possibility that the carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants could be buried underground or under the ocean floor as a strategy for addressing global warming.
Docuticker points to a new report by the U.S. Senate Green Jobs and the New Economy subcomittee, "Yellow Light on Green Jobs," which "revealed that many green jobs pay low wages, require expensive taxpayer subsidies, and kill existing jobs to pay for new green jobs." See also the press release for more.

According to a recent Census Bureau press release about its Educational Attainment 2008 report, "workers with a bachelor’s degree earned about $26,000 more on average than workers with a high school diploma, according to new figures that outline 2008 educational trends and achievement levels." This supports data available elsewhere, such as the City Dividends report, which has been blogged about and researched further at CEO for Cities and via their Talent Dividend Tour.
The American Hospital Association has a new report, The Economic Impact on Hospitals and their Communities, which looks at how the economic recession is affecting patients and hospitals.

The Hampton Roads Partnership blogs about comments by Newt Gingrich before the House Energy and Commerce Committe regarding the economic potential from drilling off the coast of Virginia.

Governing's 13th Floor blogs about the growing number of social networking sites for government employees - GovLoop in particular, but also others such as one for fire fighters.

Plastic Bag recycling, Hiring 2.0, the Chaulk Flood art event, and more

2009-04-27T10:33:00.014-04:00

Bill Greeves has a great post at MuniGov2.0 about tapping into teens' skills and interests when rolling out web 2.0 projects - they've got the skills and enthusiasm for social media to be a real boon to local government, not to mention adding authenticity and credibility (i.e. not just a PR department blogging). Did he say someone said Twitter was for "old people?" Yikes!

The St. Petersburg Times reports that several oil/gas companies are lobbying hard to open up offshore drilling off the Florida coast.

Cal-ICMA has a new Hiring 2.0 guide, offering managers with strategies for recruiting/retaining the "next generation of talent."

Greenbiz.com reports on a goal set by a group of plastic bag makers and the American Chemistry Council, where they are aiming for plastic bags to be made with 40% recycled plastic by 2015.

The Christian Science Monitor reports on the growing debate over the use of still cameras and video in the enforcement of speed limits and red-lights.

The Government Innovators Network recently highlighted the newly established NYC Service website, which is meant "to promote a new era of service and volunteerism in New York City..." See also the Mayor's press release for more.

PSFK blogs about Grand Rapid's Chaulk Flood community art event that was held recently. GR must be a hotspot for community art, since we recently blogged about another project there, ArtPrize.

Energy, the Environment, and more

2009-04-24T11:49:00.001-04:00

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom blogs at Earth2Tech about the potential of ocean energy.

Mediaweek reports on a new study that concludes that roadside digital billboards "do not pose a safety threat to drivers."

The report by Mark Drapeau for the National Defense University and other agencies is now available - "Social Software and National Security"
A blog I follow provided a link to some interesting statistics from the corporate world on the use/expectations of intranets.
The LA Times reports on new environmental rules that will "clear the way for the first offshore wind turbines to be erected along the Atlantic Coast." See the Interior Department's press release for more info and a link to the rules published in the Federal Register.

American City & County reports on a new study by the National League of Cities that concludes that "[t]here is no substantial scientific evidence that firefighters suffer higher cancer rates than the general population."
Another item from American City & County reports that Hoover, AL is now using wood-based ethanol fuel from its wood waste for its vehicles.

CEO for Cities blogs about ArtPrize, an initiative of two entrepreneurs in Grand Rapids, MI, that "aims to 'reboot the conversation between artists and the public.'"
Docuticker points to a new U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) document, "Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General also has a new document, "Compendium of Disaster Assistance Programs."
The Union of Concerned Scientists conclude in a new study that "[t]he United States can dramatically cut global warming emissions and reduce consumer and business energy bills at the same time..."
The White House's Middle Class Task Force has just released a staff report, "Financing the Dream: Securing College Affordability for the Middle Class," which looks at possible solutions for the widening gap between college tuition and parents' ability to afford it.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey for 2009 is now available, and it indicates that "a record-low 13 percent this year able to say they are very confident of having enough money to live comfortably in retirement."
An interesting report out by the Christopher Newport University Center for Public Policy and funded by the Virginia Environment Endowment is the Virginia Environmental Attitudes Survey, which looks at the public's perception of environmental issues, policy choices, and changes in personal habits.
Governing's 13th Floor blogs about the debate in San Jose over internet filterning in their public libraries.

Homelessness, the Navy's Career Intermission Pilot Program, and more

2009-04-20T13:37:00.018-04:00

ICMA points to an item at Governing's Idea Center blog that looks at the Return to Roots program being used to recruit southwestern VA high school alumi back to the area.
Another lead from ICMA is the Washington Post article reporting that the homeless will be a protected group in new Maryland hate crimes legislation.
Another LA Times article reports that Los Angeles County is going to begin tracking violence against the homeless. On a related note, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Sacremento is trying to move people from tent cities to shelters.
Another Washington Post article reports on an increase in blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay since last year.
The LA Times reports on a new study that indicates a dramatic decrease in the number of college grads needed for the California workforce by 2025.
The Innovators Insights e-newsletter from the The Roy and Lila Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government recently highlighted a Stars and Stripes article about the Navy's new "career intermission" program.
Stateline.org links to an article from USA Today on the growing number of states requiring water-bottle deposits, bringing in much-needed revenue.
Business Week recently featured a GigaOM interview with "HP's Cloud Guru" on how the company sees cloud computing changing the hardware business.
And the Washington Post reported yesterday that Virginia's Technology Secretary has been named at the nation's first Chief Technology Officer.

Tech Bytes, Cyberstates Report, Smoking Research, and more

2009-04-14T16:20:00.000-04:00

Mashable has a recent post, "Do You Pass the Social Media Recruitment Test?"

Seattle's CIO blogs about the FCC National Broadband Plan.

GigaOM has two posts on cloud computing- one listing "6 half-truths" about it and the other looking at the enterprise impact of using it.

Dion Hinchliffe blogs about the "ROI of Enterprise 2.0." On a related note, Mark Hayward offers some suggestions measuring the ROI of using social media.

NextGov blogs about a new study coming out by the DoD on "Social Media and National Security."
The EPA has done some research that indicates that environmental education programs lead to improved air quality. See their press release or project website for more.
With smoking bans going into effect, it's interesting that the Pew Social & Demographic Trends has new research on whether smokers are able to relieve stress with cigarettes.
TechAmerica has its 2009 Cyberstates report, looking at the technology industry. See the VA profile for local details.
ICMA points to a Santa Cruz Sentinel article on the success of a desalination project that will lead to the construction of a larger permanent desalination plant.
The Pew Hispanic Center has a new document, "A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States."

Economy 2.0, the Urban Digital Divide, Broadband Plans, and more

2009-04-10T10:58:00.002-04:00

ICMA points to a story from Hillsborough County, Florida where the county's Public Transportation Commission has decided to hold off regulating electric vehicles used to transport customers short distances, which is controversial since the taxi industry is regulated.

ReadWriteWeb reports on a presentation by Dion Hinchliffe at the Web 2.0 Expo last week where he connected web 2.0 to strategies for surviving the recession. Here are the slides:
Economics 2.0 Web 2.0 Expo SF 2009
View more presentations from Max Gladwell.
Stateline.org points to an NPR story on the unexpected benefits Utah has seen from its four-day work week.

Wired reports on the FCC's national broadband plans and hopes it's big enough and visionary enough to succeed. Read more about it via The Washington Post and GigaOM.

On a related note, a new study by Free Press looks at the urban digital divide. See the full report, "Wired Less: Disconnected in America." for more.
CEO for Cities points to an article in The Economist about the potential and need for a national rail strategy here in the U.S.
The Federal Highway Administration has collaborated with several organizations to develop a report, "Megaregions: Literature Review of the Implications for U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Transportation Planning."
The National Institute for Early Education Research has just released its The State of Preschool 2008.
The Urban Institute has released its first-year evaluation of new New York legislation that consists of "two innovative policies that are designed to help low-income noncustodial parents (mostly fathers) find work and pay the full amount of their current child support called the Strengthening Families Through Stronger Fathers Initiative."

Social Media, Offshore Drilling, Future Teachers, and more

2009-04-08T12:47:00.019-04:00

ICMA points to a New York Times article on Moody's outlook on the "creditworthiness" of local governments.

Mashable twittered about a new piece at HubSpot on "how to monitor your social media presence in 10 minutes a day." Nice goal!

TheOlympian.com reports an AP story about Santa Barbara County, CA, which is once again against offshore drilling. Others are also voicing opposition, including New Jersey's governor. See more about the Outer Continental Shelf at the Dept. of the Interior's website.
AARP reports on new research into how Nevada companies recruit and retain Baby Boomers, those aged 50+.
American City & County reports on a new white paper by the Water Policy Institute, "Water Wars: Conflicts over Shared Waters," which "examines conflicts like the long-running dispute between Florida, Alabama and Georgia over the use of water from the Chattahoochee River and other tributaries that feed all three states."
Carol at the CEO for Cities blog about the Global City Forum being held in Dubai. If you're interested, you can keep up via a Twitter search on #GlobalCity.
Docuticker blogs about new teen dating violence data by Break the Cycle. See the "2009 State-by-State Teen Dating Violence Report Card" and Virginia's report card for more.
Docuticker also points to a new report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, "Learning Teams: Creating What’s Next," which looks at workforce planning issues in light of anticipated retirement waves.
According to Gas 2.0, Portland and San Francisco are gearing up for a battle over "electric car domination." Portland has another manufacturer setting up shop, and SF is hoping to have major electric car infrastruction (charging stations, etc.) established soon.
Government Executive reports that the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture hopes to roll out its pay-for-performance system this summer despite growing criticism.
Government Technology reports that Utah.gov now has a few iPhone applications. From the article, "The Utah.gov application contains a search field where users can look up contact information for state agencies, browse government services and keep abreast of the site's announcements. Meanwhile, the license lookup application allows users to check on the professional license status of doctors, nurses, contractors, accountants and others."

Energy news, Dead Malls, Coworking, and more

2009-04-06T13:39:00.001-04:00

Docuticker points to a new study by Public Agenda on the public's concerns over energy conservation proposals. See "The Energy Learning Curve" for more.
On a related note, the Department of the Interior is holding several public meetings this month on "the future of offshore energy development on the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)." You can view these public meetings online and submit written comments. Nice!

The New York Times has an interesting article on what can be done with dead malls.
Web Worker Daily has a nice round-up of Coworking, "the growing movement of independent café-like collaboration spaces for freelance professionals."
Mashable has a great overview of iPhone apps that can boost your productivity while you're on the go.
The Brookings Institution has a new study on "job sprawl." See the full report for more.

The Mobile Workforce, Gross National Trash data, and more

2009-04-02T09:17:00.017-04:00

American City & County reports on a new study by ICMA on the costs of workforce mobility. See ICMA's March 2009 issue of ICMA Management Perspective for the article, "Mobile Workforce Management."

Docuticker.com points to the Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook, which "presents projections and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030."

Another post from Docuticker takes you to a new report by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. According to this report, five major communications companies contributed almost $28M between 2001-2007 to state candidates, ballot measures, etc. Virginia apparently received almost $1.5M during that time period. See the report,
Buying Broadband A BoostThe Information Super Buy-Way? for more.

Greenbiz.com reports on a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute that warns of another oil shortage as soon as 2010. See "Averting the next energy crisis: The demand challenge" for more.

Another Greenbiz.com item comes from Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy, who examines recent data on what he has coined Gross National Trash - the percentage of non-industrial waste (municipal solid waste) in our landfills.

Government Technology reports on the Top 50 Government Innovations for 2009 that were just announced by the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard .

Global Kids is holding an online forum in a few weeks called FOCUS: Cross-Generational Voices on Digital Media and Society, which will look at online ethics and life online - it's open to parents, educators, and teens.
Wired has a Reuters story on new research "that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity."

Public Media 2.0, Green Chemistry wiki, and more

2009-04-01T12:33:00.015-04:00

Governing has a piece on citizen input into the budgeting process and how it doesn't always go as planned.

Federal Computer Week reports on the increase in efforts by states and local law enforcement to fight cybercrime.
Stateline.org points to an article out of Minneapolis on how the governors of Minnesota and Wisconsin have found that sharing certain services will save each state about $10M. Not bad!
The April 2009 issue of Government Technology has some great articles, with topics covering cloud computing, municipal wi-fi, web 2.0 tools for internal and external collaboration (see the CA Green Chemistry wiki!), and more. Be sure to also see their coverage of "green tourism" in the state, with a nod to our very own convention center!

Docuticker points to a new document from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (HHS), "Getting Through Tough Economic Times."

Governing's 13th Floor blog posts about the recent Government 2.0 Camp "unconference." Wish I had gone! Read more via the Government 2.0 Club website.

American Unversity's School of Communication has a new white paper, target="_blank"Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics. Read more about it via the PBS blog, Idea Lab.

America 2050, Human Services reports, Mobile Technology use, YouTube EDU, and more

2009-03-27T13:29:00.000-04:00

The Hampton Roads Partnership blog posted recently about America 2050, "a national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050." The Northeast has been designated a "mega region."
Docuticker points to a new study by the National Association of Community Health Centers, which finds that, "[t]he number of people struggling without access to basic health care during these tough economic times has skyrocketed from 56 million to 60 million in just two years..." See the press release or full report for more.

At the request of a Congressional committee, a new report looks at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the 21 Century.

Wired reports that "the General Services Administration inked landmark agreements with several new media companies that clear up legal issues surrounding liability and government sunshine rules — thus easing their use by government agencies' websites." Read more at Federal Computer Week.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has a new extensive study on Americans' use of mobile technology. Read more about it via AppScout.com and Mediapost.com.

Portfolio.com has a recent story looking into the future of broadband and asking whether it can sustain the exponential growth in internet traffic. See also "The Future of Broadband: The Participatory Panopticon" reprinted from Wired.com. Some other interesting items here are two on cloud computing - Today's Weather Report and Long-Term Forecast. On a related note, Business Week has an article on the potential risks of relying on "the cloud."

TechCrunch has a post on educational videos (lectures, etc) online. Looks like YouTube has just started an "educational hub" - YouTube EDU- see also Academic Earth and the OpenCourseWare Consortium for other options.
American City & County has an article on two states' exploration of consolidating local government services to save on costs.
Local blogger, Avenging Archangel, reports that the VB Council members have been invited to the April 8th Council of Civic Organization's meeting at the Central Library. The public is welcome.
Common Sense California has a new study of civic engagement activities by non-profit organizations.

Electic Utilities Vehicles, Public-Private Transportation Funding?, Recent U.S. Demographic Trends, and more

2009-03-24T09:47:00.023-04:00

Governing points to a Los Angeles Time article about various cities contracting with Nissan-Renault to deploy electric vehicles in their Utilities fleets.

Fast Company writes about an "open ideas competition" for mass transit in Los Angeles. See the project's website for more or view the winners at The Architect's Newpaper.

Stateline.org points to a new Pew Center on the States report, with recommendations, for states considering public-private partnerships to fund transportation - based on a case study of Pennsylvania's experience. See the full report for more.
The Brookings Institution has a new report with analysis of recent population trends. See Getting Current: Recent Demographic Trends in Metropolitan America for more.
The World Future Society's April FUTURIST Update points to a new study by the Mercatus Center at George Washington University, "Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom" which "ranked the 50 U.S. states on fiscal and regulatory policy and on “paternalism,” covering such issues as gambling, alcohol, smoking in public areas, and doctor-assisted suicides. The freest states were Colorado, New Hampshire, Texas, South Dakota, and Idaho, while the least-free were New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, and California."
And while we explored the Mercatus Center website, we came across this Congressional testimony by Jerry Brito, J.D., Senior Research Fellow, "Crowdsourcing Accountability," which looks at technologies that can allow the public to contribute to the tracking of government spending, including the stimulus bill. Read more about it via the Crowd Sourcing Log.
A related topic discussed at the O'Reilly Radar (as in the tech publisher) is the searchability of government websites - exploring the obstacles search engines encounter when faced with government websites and offering a few initial recommendations for getting information and data on government websites indexed in search engines such as Google. This, the blogger argues, will contribute to transparency in government. If you're interested in this topic, check out Ambient Findability by Peter Morville.

American Dream Study, MakeHomeAffordable.gov, Hampton Roads Flag, and more

2009-03-23T13:08:00.013-04:00

The Brookings Institute has a new report analyzing Census data, which indicate a slowing migration pattern to previously desirable locations such as Florida and Arizona. This in turn is benefiting coastal cities and urban metro areas closer to home.
Docuticker points to the 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream, which indicates that the American Dream hasn't died but instead has been revised.
The federal government now has a website to help homeowners figure out whether they're eligible to receive federal assistance with their mortgages through the Making Home Affordable program.

Local blogger Avenging Archangel posts about the Virginia Beach NAACP's 2009 priorities, with "representation in City government" being #1. Read more via The New Journal and Guide article.

With the rising interest in regionalism to solve various problems - from transportation to financial sustainability - it's interesting to read via the Hampton Roads Partnership blog that there's Hampton Road flag.

Also of interest is the Transit Vision Plan for Hampton Roads presentation uploaded to slideshare by the Hampton Roads Partnership.
LISnews.org reports on discussions in Florida that could privatize one county's library system.

Call Centers publication, Twittering Police Departments, Public Transit Petition, and a bit more

2009-03-20T10:41:00.008-04:00

CNN had a great article recently about the increased use of Twitter and other web 2.0 tools by law enforcement agencies.
American City & County reports on a new publication from the Public Technology Institute, "The Value of Multi-Channel Contact Centers: A Checklist for Local Elected Officials."
The Hampton Roads Partnership blog points to a new online petition started by Hampton Roads Transit to voice "your support for more public transportation in Hampton Roads." Visit the "I Want More" website to express your support for regional public transportation options.
Resourceshelf.com points to a new Data Notes issue on the role libraries play in providing broadband access to citizens.
Mashable.com reports on a new website called Ask the President, where you can submit questions that could be answered by the President at a future press conference. There's also the ability to vote on questions submitted by others. According to the description, "[the] most highly voted questions will then be given to a credentialed journalist, who will ask the most appropriate one if given the opportunity."

Presentations on the Go, "Rich States, Poor States" Report, and more

2009-03-18T16:07:00.000-04:00

PSFK posts a story from MSNBC about a town in Ohio that used a "common book" project to approach its economic recovery.
The Brookings Institution now has a new the Spring 2009 issue of DemocracyJournal.org, with an article called "Miracle Mets: Our fifty states matter a lot less than our 100 largest metro areas."
The Spring issue of Next American City has several interesting articles, including one describing how two cities are dealing with the financial crisis, another that talks about cities who are converting used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel (see the Vegetable Oil Exchange as an example), and an interview with a social scientist who is turning to wikis to crowdsource the vision for "the city" in 2050. See Roope Mokka's blog post about this concept for more. See also this great document from Demos NOW on City 2.0- city planning "from the bottom up."
Business Week reports on the dilemma in libraries concerning the Consumer Product Safety Commission's new ruling regarding testing children's books for lead.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) just released its second annual "Rich States, Poor States" report for 2009. See the website or full report for more. Virginia ranked 6th for economic performance and 4th for economic outlook. Promising!

The National Center for Education Statistics has just announced the availability of the 2008 Digest of Education Statistics, which provides "a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, and federal funds for education, libraries, and international comparisons. "
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has a new report looking at the economic impact of community colleges on students' abilty to improve their financial standing.
And lastly, mobile technology is definitely hot at the moment, and now Slideshare.net has rolled out a mobile app for those who may need to catch a presentation between meetings or in lieu of being there in person.

Twitter in Local Government, "Reality Mining," Light Rail, and more

2009-03-16T09:06:00.018-04:00

Technology Review's blog posts about an informal survey done about how Twitter might help users search/locate information.

Another article from Technology Review discusses an emerging trend called "reality mining," something that could become useful in other ways, such as law enforcement.

Business Week reports on Amsterdam's initial efforts to go green by 2012, including electric garbage trucks and financial assistance available to residents.

Advocating for free government information, the Knight Foundation is sponsoring Sunshine Week 2009, which includes a survey of state government information online. See their report for details. For Virginia, they state that "[w]hile the state government does not post officials' financial disclosure reports, a non-profit organization called The Virginia Public Access Project is said to post the information in a searchable database.

Governing points to an e! Science News article about a new study confirming predictions of higher seal levels along the Northeast coast.

Docuticker points to a survey by The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press about local newspaper readership. Among their findings was the fact that "fewer than half of Americans (43%) say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community “a lot.” Even fewer (33%) say they would personally miss reading the local newspaper a lot if it were no longer available."

ICMA points to several items related to light rail, including an editorial in The Virginian-Pilot urging VB Council and mayor to engage citizens in dialogue about their light rail plans. Another items from Texas reports on one county's misgivings about plans for local governments to fund light rail expansions. The Seattle Times reports that a state bill that would require dense development near light rail stations failed.
Another ICMA items points to a story from Bloomberg News, which reports that the U.S. House is seeking ways to provide support for the municipal bond market.
According to The Annapolis Anchor, the Anne Arundel County Dept. of Public Works is now using Twitter and YouTube. Nice!

Web 2.0 tidbits, Mental Health Care Report Card, Mileage Fees, Congestion Pricing, and more (TGIF!!)

2009-03-13T08:42:00.000-04:00

ICMA points to a story on San Francisco Mayor Newsom's use of Twitter, including his assessment of its usefulness and applicability in local government.
Government Technology reports on another city-level stimulus tracking website, this time from Boise, ID.
A member of the GovLoop.com social network alerted the Government 2.0 Club community about a blog post at The Homeland Security Blog about a Federal Computer Week article discussing a new GIS initiative that the DHS has begun with the goal of creating a "virtual USA" website for first responders. Virginia was one of the states represented at the first meeting about this project.
Stateline.org points to an NPR story on the possible use of mileage fees to generate revenue for transportation projects.
The Goldwater Institute in Arizona, a non-profit libertarian group, has released a new report, "A New Charter for American Cities: 10 Rights to Restrain Government and Protect Freedom."

Docuticker points to a new report by the National Alliance for Mental Health which assesses the country's mental health care system and finds that "the national average grade is a D." See Grading the States or read Virginia's detailed report card (overall grade: C) for more.
The Congressional Budget Office has a new study on congestion pricing works to reduce traffic.
Government Technology reports on Miami-Dade County "Inside County Jobs" on the county's TV channel, which is also available on their website and on their YouTube channel.
Governing's 13th Floor blogs about a recent Urban Institute conference on children and the foreclosure crisis.
And since we're all a bit fried lately from stress, here's a great post from HarvardBusiness.org with advice on handling it.

Stimulus Tracking Websites and more

2009-03-10T11:14:00.015-04:00

Nielsen has a new report that indicates an increase in visits to social networking sites and blogs - now visited by two-thirds of the "global online population" and accounting for 10% of time online. See the Nielsen blog post or the full report for more. Demographics of those visiting these sites has also seen an increase, especially in adults aged 35-49.
Docuticker.com points to new statistics from the American Public Transportation Association that indicates public transportation use increased in 2008 even when fuel prices fell.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that researchers at George Mason University have just launched VirginiaStimulus.org to help citizens see how the state's spending its stimulus funds. On a related note, New York City has established NYCStat Stimulus Tracker.
Docuticker also points to a new NOAA report that looks at why some residents stay put during natural disasters and others heed warnings and leave. See the press release or full report, "Service Assessment of the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of February 5-6, 2008" for more.
IBM's Center for the Business of Government has a new report, "Strengthening Government's Ability to Deal with the Financial Crisis."
O'Reilly Media and TechWeb are co-sponsoring a summit planned for September 2009 called Gov 2.0, which will focus on using new technology in increase efficiency, transparency, public dialogue as part of policy decisions, and more. See also the PR Newswire story to learn more.

Business Week's Blogspotting blog has an interesting post on why you'd want to follow someone on Twitter and how to decide who to follow.

Web 2.0 bytes, the new U.S. CIO, Energy updates, and more

2009-03-09T16:32:00.000-04:00

We blogged the other day about the Vice President's Middle Class Task Force. Now they have a blog, too.
ReadWriteWeb.com has a great post on Government 2.0 and the challenges ahead in the post, "Government 2.0: The Midlife Crisis."

Media Newswire reports that the UVA Center for Politics has established "a new international initiative aimed at enhancing dialogue among citizens of democracies around the world, and exploring avenues for enhanced civic engagement within democratic societies." Dialogue would be via workshops or exchange programs among citizens from different countries.
Stateline.org points to a Wall Street Journal article about Florida's outsourcing of a toll road to a private contractor, and some predict others will follow suit.
Washington Technology reports on the new federal CIO, who pledges to make more government data available online and to integrate Web 2.0 technologies and other innovative uses of technology into government business. Read more about it via Computerworld. A great quote from a Wall Street Journal article: "I’m a big believer in disruptive technology,” he said. To him, following the traditional approach of only investing in tried and true systems is a sure way to become outdated. “If I went to the coffee shop, I would have more computing power than the police department,” he said. “Consumers had better technology than the government did." Yet another article at Wired invites readers to help build www.data.gov, which is in the new CIO's plans.

ICMA points to a Modesto Bee (CA) article on a possible consolidation of some services between Stanislaus County and Modesto as an answer to major revenue shortfalls.
An item from Minnesota covers a proposed "streetlight fee" being considered in South St. Paul. Apparently other cities are also looking at this to make up for lost revenues.

Rita McGrath at Harvard Business Publishing blogs about a recent workshop on cutting costs that covered traps to avoid- as relevant in local government as in industry.

The National League of Cities reports that it has a new Municipal Action Guide available, "How Cities Can Work to Reduce Fuel Consumption and Increase Efficiency of Services."

Cops 2.0 blogs about crowdsourcing in crime prevention/government. Note that one example included librarians helping out!

The Daily Press has an article about a 2006 disparity study of Hampton's procurement practices in terms of contracting with minority businesses - and apparently there's still been a decline since then.
PR Newswire reports that South Carolina has begun an offshore wind study to gauge the potential to become a major source of wind energy. Read more about the Palmetto Wind Power Project via a Coastal Carolina University news release.
In a similar vein, the San Francisco Chronicle reports on the potential revival of the nuclear power industry.
Gas 2.0 has a new article, "Ethanol - the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Beautiful." Read more about the debate raging in California about ethanol and the state's proposed low carbon fuel standards via Greenbiz.com.

AmericanGreenJobs.net, the new federal CIO, Immigration, and more

2009-03-04T13:19:00.019-05:00

The Center for Housing Policy, KnowledgePlex, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Urban Institute maintain a website called Foreclosure-Response.org. We discovered it via an announcement of a Chapin Hall audio webcast being held on March 12th, "Children and Foreclosures: The Economic Crisis Hits Home," part of the Thursday's Child public policy series co-sponsored by the Urban Institute.
The Brookings Institution has an article and corresponding powerpoint presentation taking a closer look at Prince William County's approach to unauthorized immigrants.

Governing points to a Newsday article on Suffolk County, NY's proposed ban on polycarbonate baby bottles, which contain bisphenol A, widely known as BPA, and thought by some to be harmful to infants.

Governing also points to a Washington Post article about the announcement that D.C's CIO has been appointed as the federal Chief Information Officer. See also the Feb. 2009 Governing article highlighting how Vivek Kundra has taken an innovative approach to government IT. A great example is the contest mentioned in the article, Apps for Democracy. Read more at CIO.com.
Stateline.org points to a Wall Street Journal article on the growing trend towards mergers among local governments and/or certain departments as a cost-saving measure during the recession.
IWS Documented News Daily Postings points to a new website, American Green Jobs, a website sponsored by the EPA and the Dept. of Labor which "focuses on bringing together government, business, academic, and nonprofit leaders involved in the identification and development of green jobs and the preparation and training of workers needed to support them. "
Harvard University's Government Innovators Network points to a Seattle Times article on the city's new mandate to recycle food and yard waste. Unless families can prove they're composting, they'll be required to get a recycling bin for food and yard waste. See the newspaper's roundup of the changes, fees, and Seattle's recycling history and the Dept. of Public Utilities' brochure about the changes coming March 30th.
The GAO has a new report to Congress, "Better Controls Needed over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws."

Citizen Participation, Construction data, Offshore Drilling, Red Light Cameras, and more

2009-03-04T11:28:00.017-05:00

The White House has released a new report, "Green Jobs: A Pathway to a Strong Middle Class," done by the Vice President of the United States's Middle Class Task Force.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch offers more information about the new Pew Center on the States report on the number of people in the nation's correctional systems. According to this article, one out of every 46 adults in Virginia are in jail, on probation, or on parole.

The EPA has released data on residential construction, which finds that "[i]n more than half of the largest metropolitan areas, urban core communities have dramatically increased their share of new residential building permits." In fact, in the local MSA (Norfolk/VB/NN), "infill development accounts for between ¼ and ½ of new construction." See the full report for details.

The New Orleans Citizen Participation Project blogs about the first New Orleans Citizen Participation Project Town Hall Breakfast, where the 1st draft of the New Orleans Citizen Participation Program model was discussed. See the Committee for a Better New Orleans / Metropolitan Area Committee to learn more.

The Virginian-Pilot's Pilot on Politics blog posts about a letter Lt. Governor Bolling sent to the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar regarding offshore drilling in Virginia, encouraging exploration while Gov. Kaine opposes it. See the Lt. Governor's press release for more.

Governing's 13th Floor blog posts about the various stimulus package websites created by state governments and points to a SocialGovernment.com article for more on states' use of social media- and Virginia's is deemed the best!

WVEC reports that red-light cameras are going up again in Virginia Beach. See also their FAQs, VDOT's Red Light Running Photo Enforcement Program website, a Daily Press article about it, the vbgov.com PhotoSafe website, or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Q&As for more.

Uranium Mining Discussion - March 18th

2009-03-04T10:46:00.007-05:00

Just by chance, I learned yesterday of an upcoming event focusing on the proposed uranium mine in Southside Virginia. This has caused some debate and discussion among local leaders. For background information, see the Feb. 23 article at TIME.com or the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy's Uranim Mining Subcommittee's website.

Delegate Joe Bouchard will be present to discuss the study to be conducted regarding the proposed mine. The event will be held March 18th from 7:30-9pm at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, located at 5181 Princess Anne Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 and is being hosted by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and the Tidewater Sowers of Justice.

Members of the Virginia Beach City Council and Norfolk's City Council, in addition to residents living near the proposed mine, have been invited, although it's not clear whether any have confirmed their attendance.

See the Southside Virginia Against Uranium Mining blog post about it or RSVP via Del. Bouchard's website.

UPDATE: see also Public Utilities' Uranium Mining Resources webpage on vbgov.com.

Sustainable Communities, Imagine KC project, Mileage Fees, and more

2009-03-02T16:20:00.019-05:00

The Brookings Institution has released its 2008 Brown Center Report on American Education. See also the Brookings Institution press release.
ICMA points to a Chicago Tribune article about a sustainable community outside Atlanta, where "buildings are heated and cooled with geothermal units buried in a graveled courtyard. Houses overlooking lakes and green space are built using the latest technology in solar heating and energy-efficient appliances. Waste water is filtered in a biological treatment system and reused for irrigation and toilet flushing. Walking trails meander through the 1,000-acre site. A 30-acre farm produces fresh organic fruits and vegetables for the residents and the development's three restaurants."
The Boston Globe reports that a local group of business leaders has "endorsed a 25-cent increase in the state gas tax, a more aggressive hike than Governor Deval Patrick's 19-cent request, saying that the state needs to move even faster to fix its ailing network of roads and bridges to encourage a strong business climate." See also the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission recent report, Paving Our Way, for more analysis of federal transportation-related taxes and their recommendation to replace them with a mileage fee instead.
Docuticker points to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP), which finds that "[a]bout 40% of families facing eviction due to foreclosure are renters whose landlords have defaulted on their mortgages, and these renters have little protection..." Read the press release or full report, Without Just Cause: A 50-State Review of the (Lack of) Rights of Tenants in Foreclosure , for details.
Oil & Gas Journal reports that "[s]harp divisions have formed over the Obama administration's budgetary proposals to eliminate "oil and gas company preferences" worth an estimated $31.48 billion over 10 years and raise other taxes on the industry." Some predict these changes "could reduce oil and gas exploration opportunities in the United States," according to Geology.com.
ICMA reports that the Cal-ICMA has just released its "Hiring 2.0" guide, which "is aimed at identifying and promoting best practices so local governments can better attract, retain and develop its talent, especially next generation talent."
The Wikinomics blog posts about a new video from Microsoft on their vision of technology in 2019. See also the other Future Visions videos listed at the end of this one - banking, retail, manufacturing, etc.
A saved Google search RSS feed led me to "Imagine KC," a community visioning process that started last fall in Kansas City. See their main website, their blog, or their Twitter feed for more.
Government Technology reports on a new web-based social services site from the state of New York: myBenefits.
Another Government Technology article highlights the use of Smartphones in the public sector and points to Hawaii County's use of Smartphones in law enforcement to increase efficiency by giving police officers direct access to criminal and motor vehicle databases in the field.

Foreclosure Tour, Blogging bytes, and more

2009-03-02T11:28:00.021-05:00

The Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at Columbia University has a new website called EnhancED, which highlights new and emerging uses of technology in educations.
ICMA points to an article in The Arizona Republic that cites the light rail system in the Tempe area for new (re)development projects.
Stateline.org reports on a new Pew Center on the States study of state correctional systems and finds that "[s]tates spend seven times more money on prisons than on probation and parole, even though the vast majority of the 7.3 million adults now under correctional supervision are not behind bars..." According to the article, 22 out of every 1,000 people in Virginia are under correctional supervision (in correctional facility, on probation or parole). See the press release or full report for more.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that "Virginia legislators quit on time last night, approving a budget-balancing plan that protects state jobs and softens cuts to education, health care and police with nearly $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds."
WAVY.com reports that a bus took 25 people around Virginia Beach to see foreclosed homes. In all, there are apparently 129 properties in foreclosure in the City.
ICMA has established an Economic Crisis website to help cities develop quick strategies to stay above water. See also their white paper, Navigating the Fiscal Crisis.

Yet another lead from ICMA points to the blog created by the Galesburg (IL) City Manager focusing on the federal stimulus package.

A recent Tech Insider post at NextGov.com discusses a recent Government Executive article where the author argues that federal agencies "would meet their missions better if they adopted risk management techniques as part of their strategic management plans." Eight questions managers should ask in accomplishing this are listed.

Governing.com's 13th Floor blog posts about the decline of newspaper coverage at the state and local levels as reported in Washington Post articles this weekend. One Columnist in particular notes that blogs are partly filling the gap but just can't replace coverage provided by the newspapers when many staffers worked to report news on local issues. In fact, Gov. Kaine is quoted in the article, '"The smaller the press corps gets, the more you see personality stories rather than pieces about what is at stake for people," says Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. "Smoking in restaurants is always going to get covered, but now, when we make big changes in mental health or foster care, nobody covers it..."'

Docuticker.com points to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report on state and local law enforcement training academies.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has an analysis that "provides state-by-state estimates for a number of the major spending and tax provisions that will affect low- and moderate-income Americans (some provisions cannot be allocated on a state-by-state basis). "
On a related note, the new Congressional Budget Office Director blogs about their cost analysis of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (H.R. 1106), estimating that it would "increase direct spending by about $8 billion over the 2009-2014 period, and would reduce direct spending by about $15 billion over the 2009-2019 period. Enacting H.R 1106 would increase revenues by $19 million over the 2009-2014 period and by $23 million over the 2009-2019 period." And see where the former CBO Director is now- the Office of Managment and Budget, and yep- he's blogging now.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has a new “Year in Hate” issue that finds that "the number of hate groups operating in the United States continued to rise in 2008 and has grown by 54 percent since 2000." The SPLC has identified 26 hate groups in Virginia.

Light Friday Reading...

2009-02-27T09:56:00.006-05:00

A lead from a member of GovLoop pointed to a new "best practices" article at USAservices.gov, "Using Social Media to Protect Public Safety: DC’s Fugitive Safe Surrender Prompts 530 Offenders with Warrants to Voluntarily Surrender in a Church." See examples of their podcasts and TV ads for more.
Stateline.org points to an article at Delwareonline.com about two new websites developed by the state's Department of Agriculture- DEFoodtrader.org and DEAgtrader.org, both of which put "agricultural producers and consumers in direct touch through the Internet." See also the examples from Maryland.
The AppGap blogs about a Business Week article on the rise of teleworking as a perk to retain employees.
LeadershipNow.com blogs about a new book on problem-solving, Know What You Don't Know.

Transit, Third Offshore Drilling Hearing, Gas 2.0, and more

2009-02-26T14:02:00.012-05:00

USA Today reports on local governments' recent actions to revise their animal control laws in light of recent attacks by pitbulls and exotic pets.
New Zealand's e-government website features a piece by Tara Hunt on using web 2.0 tools to increase collaboration between government and its citizens, with some useful basic tenets for this concept.
cDiver.net reports on the third hearing of the U.S. House of Representative's Natural Resources Committee, where oil executives asked "Congress not to stall the opening of new offshore drilling areas that can provide the U.S. with a reliable source of energy and jobs." See also the CNN coverage of this and the Committee's website for more.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a new report on the federal government's low-income housing programs, stating that these programs have "been weakened considerably" in recent years.
The Hampton Roads Partnership posts a useful overview of one of the two public hearings held Tuesday on the Transit Vision Plan being developed by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization.
See also the HRP blog's post containing Mayor Sessom's recent interview with Cathy Lewis on WHRO's What Matters.
Gas 2.0 reports that Raleigh, NC has plans to install eight plug-in hybrid charging stations over the next few months. Learn more about this via the Project Get Ready website, the program Raleigh and other cities are participating in to make these charging stations a reality.

Deadly in Pink, Clean Energy, TeacherTube, and more

2009-02-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

Docuticker points to the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which has a new toolkit to "help dependency courts successfully implement a performance measurement process." See their "Toolkit for Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases" for more.
Another Docuticker post points to a new report, "Deadly in Pink: Big Tobacco Steps Up Its Targeting of Women and Girls,” which finds that the "tobacco industry has unleashed its most aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls in over a decade..." See the press release and Deadly in Pink website for more.
Yet another Docuticker.com link points to a new white paper by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), “Green Power Superhighways: Building a Path to America’s Clean Energy Future,” which "current inadequacies of the U.S. electric transmission infrastructure and offering policy solutions to address them." See the press release or full report for more.

Business Week points to a new study that finds that "state-by-state increases vary wildly depending on how much medical care is available." Visit the study's website for an interactive map that illustrates the differences.
The latest Futurist Update from the World Future Society highlight's TeacherTube, which "offers samples of student projects as well as master-instructor tutorials on any subject in the curriculum."
The March Futurist Update also points to a new Outlook by the National Association for Business Economics, which expects, among other things, that "the recession to continue through mid-year 2009, with large declines in real GDP during each of this year’s first two quarters. Cumulatively, the cyclical downturn will rival that of 1973-75."
Stateline.org points to a Wall Street Journal article on a new report by the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission which has several recommendations for generating revenue for transportation infrastructure, including a mileage tax. See the Commission's website for a press release and full report, Paving Our Way. Read more about this also via an article at The Huffington Post.
And, the federal FY2010 budget is now available.

Stimulus Package bytes, Tech bytes, and much more

2009-02-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

The CQ Researcher blog posts an excerpt from one of their recent reports looking at the stimulus package and its potential impacts- negative and positive- to public works projects.

Free Government Information blogs that the latest Federal Open Government Guide is now available. In addition to helping citizens understand the Freedom of Information Act, this new addition, "covers laws such as the Government in the Sunshine Act (GSA), the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and the Privacy Act."

We've often referred to the Municipal Research Services Center in Washington State for useful information. Since last visiting it, they've added great news items to their front page, including a link to a podcast at SmartCityRadio.com about a new report, City Dividends, which argues that America’s 51 largest cities have the opportunity to collectively realize $166 billion in much-needed new wealth by focusing on performance improvements in three key areas: increasing the educational attainment of their citizens, reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled per person each day and reducing the number of people living in poverty..." See the blog post at CEOs for Cities or the full report for more."

Today's post from CEOs for Cities asks, "Will the Crash Reshape America?" and cites new research by Rich Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, and recently published in an Atlantic Monthly article.
And several blogs have posted about Secretary Clinton's use of the State Department's blog, DipNote. See the post at Free Government Information for more.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security now has its 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan available.

Businessweek.com has an article about a study on electronic health records that found that "getting patients involved in the effort, along with hospitals and doctors' offices, can lead to substantial benefits." Read more via Harvard Science.

The Brookings Institution has a recent commentary on ways in which the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations technologically- we're now 15th. Areas examined include broadband, health care IT, and e-government. We previously blogged about their August 2008 report, Improving Technology Utilization in Electronic Government around the World, 2008.

Another recent Brookings Institution commentary, "Can Metropolitan Leaders Make the Stimulus Package Work?" laments that the stimulus package doesn't provide incentives for local leaders working together in regional solutions.

Yet another item from the Brookings Institution provides a good overview of the current debates over the upcoming 2010 Census, namely what advocacy groups see as the potential problems accurately counting minorities in low-income communities.

Virginia Tech reports that the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, a state agency located on campus, "has released a list of over 170 water resource-related bills in the 2009 Virginia General Assembly," available from their website. What's also cool is their online list of recent articles relating to these bills via the social bookmarking website, delicious.com.

The Daily Press reports that the General Assembly is close to approving $50M in incentives for Northrup Grumman Shipyard to train "as many as 10,000 new workers, build a new Apprentice School and add infrastructure to support an expansion of its submarine construction program." On a related note, the DP also reports that the current NG Apprentice School just graduated 194 new workers.

Last year we saw several cities working to ban or impose fees for the use of plastic shopping bags in all or certain types of retail stores. Ocala.com has a good update on this issue, citing several cities and states that have succeeded or attempted to take some action.

The Chicago Tribune has an article about the President's New Media Director, Macon Phillips, who has brought more interaction, video, blogs, and more to WhiteHouse.gov and more.

Cloud Computer Journal reports that USA.gov will now be powered by Open Source technology, a growing IT trend.

PR Newswire reports on a joint initiative between the national grassroots organization, 20,000 Dialogues, and the non-profit organization Public Agenda. The project, Many Religions, One Community: Lessons from Islamic Spain for Today's World provides resources and a dialogue toolkit for those interested in hosting an event and uses the PBS film, "Cities of Light: Different Faiths Collaborate" as the basis for dialogue.

Ahab's Journal, a blog focusing on the Outer Bank's commercial fishing community, posts about the U.S. Committee on Natural Resources hearings being held this week regarding offshore drilling. Apparently the Committee's website will have witness testimony (including VA's Senator Frank Wagner) and live/archived video after this week's hearings have concluded.

Docuticker points to a new GAO report, Securing, Stabilizing, And Developing Pakistan’s Border Area With Afghanistan: Key Issues For Congressional Oversight.

Government Technology has a recent article on how Harris County's (TX) telework program helped the county continue its operations after Hurricane Ike in Sept. 2008.

The Citizen Engagement blog out of New Zealand posts about an online polling website established by the NZ Families Commission, The Couch. From their description, they say its "an easy way for you to tell us what you think about issues relating to family life. Knowing what you think will help us advocate for improved policies and services for families."
Shawn O’Donnell’s VirginiaDem.org blog posts about Gov. Kaine's recent announcement on new features that have been added to the state's Stimulus.Virginia.gov website. See also the Government Technology article about this. The deadline to submit ideas is March 6th!
WAVY.com reports that "the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is soliciting public comments regarding the current regulation restricting boat traffic in waters adjacent to the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. The public meeting is scheduled for March 23, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Princess Anne Recreation Center.
The AppGap asks How Come Distributed Work is Still the Next Big Thing? The Capital Magazine article is available via free registration, but you can also get a sense of the contents via the three-part series at The Future of Work newsletter - part one, part two, and part three.
And lastly, don't forget about tonight's public hearing on "A Transit Vision Plan for Hampton Roads" being held by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Public School Donations, YourPlayground.org, MuniGovCon '09, and more goodies

2009-02-23T09:44:00.022-05:00

ICMA points to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on the city's revised tree ordinance, which "strengthens protections against development for stands of trees -- 20 or more contiguous trees; trees with trunks more than 6 inches in diameter..." See the text of Council Bill 116404 for more.

Another lead from ICMA points to a Wall Street Journal article about the rise of idle boxcars, "parked indefinitely by railroads whose freight volumes have plummeted along with the economy." According to the article, "The nation's five largest railroads have put more than 30% of their boxcars -- 206,000 in all -- into storage, according to the Association of American Railroads. Placed end-to-end, the cars would stretch from New York to Salt Lake City." The article also includes data and discussion about the decline in all freight- trucking, ships, etc. By comparison, a 2008 RAND publication projects that "the volume of [railway] freight transported in the United States is expected to double in the next 30 years." For related data, see also the Federal Highway Administration's Freight Facts and Figures for 2008 and the Association of American Railroads' 2007 Railroad Statistics.

KPVI out of Idaho reports on the state's new official website, which now includes social media such as a Twitter feed, RSS feeds, photos on Facebook, videos via YouTube, and more.
The Hampton Roads Partnership blog posts that Hampton Roads has been "highlighted as "best region" on East Coast for defense jobs..." See the full June 2008 Small Business Administration report on high-impact firms for more.

Next American City now has its first installment of its new Metronomics column, "When City Governments Outsource, Who Wins?" which "asks whether public-private partnerships are a worthwhile solution for cash-strapped cities—or a quick, risky fix."

Hawaii's public schools are now seeking donations and volunteers via a newly established a website, "linking would-be donors and volunteers with specific campuses and their needs." See the Star-Bulletin article for more. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Florida legislators are considering a four-day week for their public schools next fall as a cost-saving measure. And Governor Kaine is considering cutting school support jobs by 1/3 if his proposal goes through.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Wisconsin will start collecting "sales taxes on Internet downloads of music, games, books, ring tones and other video entertainment - a decision that angers some who will find the 5% tax added to their credit-card bills after Oct. 1." According to their map, fifteen states and D.C. already have an internet sales tax.
eTrucker.com reports that the Virginia Dept. of Transporation is "considering closing 25 of its 41 rest stops as part of a plan to cope with a projected $2.6 billion shortfall."

Mark Drapeau writes via Federal Computer Week about a great new term he recently coined: the goverati. Read this great blog post to learn more about how the federal government is incorporating social media into how they collaborate and communicate internally and externally. In fact, Mark is involved with the upcoming Goverment 2.0 Camp unconference being held in D.C. next month. Too bad all the free slots are "sold out!" As an alternative, consider attending the MuniGovCon '09 virtual conference being held in Second Life in April. And lastly, Social Computing Magazine has written a brief Beginner's Guide to Government 2.0.
Time has a new article today on the uranium mining debate here in Virginia. And Reuters reports on a new study that concludes that "oil and natural gas development in newly opened offshore areas will generate $1.7 trillion in federal tax revenue and almost $600 million in state and local taxes throughout the life span of the new fields..." Read a summary or the full report at the American Energy Alliance website.
ResourceShelf.com points to Stateline.org's archive of governors' State of the State speeches back to 2000.
Civic Blogger blogs about YourPlayground.org, an interactive online tool (you may need to update your Flash plugin if it doesn't load properly) that allows citizens to try their hand at developing "the design of a new community park developed, in support of the Allstate and the U.S. Olympic Committee's joint effort to create an Olympic bid for the city of Chicago..."
Docuticker points to an analysis of the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which concludes that "funding for states in economic recovery package will close less than half of state deficits." See the 2-page document for more.
Docuticker also points to a new Rasmussen Report, the results of a recent telephone survey that found that "forty-five percent (45%) of Americans oppose the federal government subsidizing mortgage payments for financially troubled homeowners."

"Code of the Street" research, Freight data, Next Gen 911, and more

2009-02-20T15:57:00.012-05:00

The National Institute of Justice has a new Research in Brief that "presents research exploring Yale professor Elijah Anderson’s “code of the street” theory. Researchers looked for developmental relationships between neighborhood and family characteristics, reported experiences with racial discrimination, expressed street code values and self-reported violent behavior in young people." See the summary or full report, The Code of the Street, for more.
Docuticker also points to new Freight Facts and Figures (trucks, trains, water conveyance, etc.) from the Federal Highway Administration. One interesting fact, "the number of commercial trucks climbed 52 percent between 1980 and 2006."
Government Technology reports that the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications has a new 911 Master Plan, Next Generation 911 Master Plan.
Another heads-up from GT is the new Issue Brief from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Sustaining the State Workforce: Strategies for Effective Pandemic Planning.
The U.S. Department of Justice has a new document, A Guide to Grant Oversight and Best Practices for Combating Grant Fraud.
The National Association of Home Builders has their latest Housing Opportunity Index, which lists the top 10 affordable and least affordable metropolitan areas AND similar lists for smaller housing markets. See the NAHB press release or the Lifehacker post about this for a quick overview. One finding: "The HOI indicated that 62.4 percent of all new and existing homes that were sold in the final quarter of 2008 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, up considerably from the 56.1 percent of homes that were affordable to such families in the previous quarter and the 46.6 percent of homes that were affordable to them at the end of 2007." In other words, housing prices are falling...
ReadWriteWeb.com reports on a new Forrester Research report on older Americans' use of social media (blogs, podcasts, etc.) and finds that "more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What's more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise. "
Wired's Autopia blog posts about a recent symposium sponsored by the Art Center College of Design, "Expanding the Vision of Sustainable Mobility."

Various news items- Environment, Web 2.0, Economy, and more

2009-02-20T08:52:00.020-05:00

Greenbiz.com reports that the "ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach began collecting fees from pre-2007 diesel trucks this week as part of a Clean Trucks Program aimed at getting polluting rigs off the road."

Federal Computer Week has an interesting piece that differentiates between public comment and public participation/dialogue in light of the rise of social media. Although speaking at the federal level, it still has interesting points. See also the Information Week blog post on this article.
This next news item seems familiar to me, but I don't think we've posted about it before. A recent study by researchers at Harvard University and Suffolk University tested the theory that neighborhood blight increases crime rates. As reported in The Boston Globe, "the results ... are striking: A 20 percent plunge in calls to police from the parts of town that received extra attention. It is seen as strong scientific evidence that the long-debated "broken windows" theory really works - that disorderly conditions breed bad behavior, and that fixing them can help prevent crime."
For those who know others facing unemployment, SocialTake.com lists 30+ websites to learn more about getting the support and resources needed to find other opportunities. In addition, WVEC has posted information about a local survey done in 1999 on what skills employers value most. See also the VB Schools website for more about their Virginia's 13 Workplace Readiness Skills curriculum.
The McKinsey Quarterly reports on one of their recent study on "making web 2.0 work" in business - collaboration, participation, etc. After studying several early-adopter companies, they identified "six critical factors that determine the outcome of efforts to implement these technologies," which includes:
1) The transformation to a bottom-up culture needs help from the top
2) The best uses come from users—but they require help to scale
3) What’s in the workflow is what gets used
4) Appeal to the participants’ egos and needs—not just their wallets
5) The right solution comes from the right participants
6) Balance the top-down and self-management of risk
Docuticker points to two new reports by the Centers for Strategic & International Studies, The Iraq War: Progress in the Fighting and Security and the draft report, How Soon is Safe? Iraqi Force Development and Conditions-Based U.S. Withdrawls. See details at the CSIS website.
Decaturmetro.com reports that the city of Decatur has decided to continue its "Open City Hall" online discussion forums as a tool to broaden its dialogue with citizens.
The Urban Institute has a new report, The Economic Crisis and the Fiscal Crisis: 2009 and Beyond.
Free Government Information blogs about a new website, Change Tracker, which posts any changes to whitehouse.gov, recovery.gov, or financialstability.gov.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the U.S. Transportation Secretary is starting to consider establishing a tax that would charge motorists based on the number of miles traveled. For more about the discussions in North Carolina, see the article from The News-Observer.
The World Economic Forum has released a report emphasizing the need and importance of fresh water conservation in the "energy equation." See the press release or the full report, "Thirsty Energy: Water and Energy in the 21st Century," for more.
Yale Environment 360 reports on Google Earth's new project, The Vulcan Project, which "shows carbon dioxide emissions in metric tons in residential and commercial areas by state, county or per capita," according to TerraDaily.com. Read more about it via the press release.

Uranium Mining (again), Gas 2.0, and more

2009-02-19T10:50:00.016-05:00

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Pittsylvania County's leaders passed a resolution Monday night urging the state commission examining uranium mining in that area to also consider potential health hazards in addition to the costs/benefits of it. Read more about it at GoDanRiver.com.

The White House has posted state-level information regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding. According to the Employment Factsheet, Virginia could gain 93,000 jobs and the 2nd Congressional District almost 8,000 jobs. Other information there includes health care, infrastructure, energy, and education. See the full text of this legislation via the Goverment Printing Office's Federal Digital System, or FDsys.

Similar to Virginia's stimulus package website, Michigan has established a website "that will serve as an online source of information on the federal economic stimulus package, eventually including programs and projects that will receive funding." Read the post at Nextgov.com on the projects (over 1,200 and counting!) submitted by Virginia citizens.
ICMA writes about its newly revamped Local Government Environmental Assistance Network website.
The Urban Institute has a new brief on its evaluation of the Los Angeles Healthy Kids program, including findings that "indicate that access to medical and dental care for enrolled children increased over time, while unmet needs for care decreased. In addition, parents report improvements in the perceived health status of their children."
Gas 2.0 has a post by San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom, on their plans for three electric vehicle recharging stations.
Nextgov.com has a 2/12/08 article, "Social Butterflies," on federal agencies exploring web 2.0.
On a lighter note, PSFK blogs about James Patterson, who is working with his publisher and Borders Australia on a chain triller writing project that will incorporate fan-submitted chapters for his book Airborne.

C'ville Efficiency study, Public Media 2.0, Web 2.0 Security Threats, Trend Spotting Tips, and more

2009-02-18T08:32:00.021-05:00

The local paper in Charlottesville reports on the recommendations in a new efficiency study of its municipal operations and budget, which include "review[ing] how it funds its public schools, consolidate some services and possibly increase the personal property tax from 4.2 percent to 4.28 percent..." Read more about it via a Charlottesville Tomorrow blog post.
A new blog hopes to keep tabs on how the federal government is integrating web 2.0 into the way it does business. Visit Social Government.com for more.
On a related note, GovernmentSecurity.org links to ReadWriteWeb.com, which posted recently on the Secure Enterprise 2.0 forum that came up with the top 10 Web 2.0 security threats.
Docuticker points to the newly released 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment by the National Gang Intelligence Center at the U.S. Department of Justice.
The U.S. Treasury has just released its first monthly bank lending survey "designed to provide new, more frequent and more accessible information on banks’ lending activities to help taxpayers easily assess the lending and other activities of banks receiving government investments." See the snapshot or reports from individual banks for more.
Vivian Paige blogs about a new report by the Commonwealth Institute and Voices for Virginia’s Children "in which they warn that our worsening economic conditions will result in thousands more Virginians living in poverty."
Michael Stephens, a web 2.0 guru in the library world, links from his Tame the Web blog to Trendwatching.com's Top 15 Trend Questions to help readers become better trend watchers. He apparently has used some of these tips in compiling his 2009 list of technology trends for libraries.
Governing has a great management column today, "The Promise of the Millennial Generation," which discusses some strengths that "align beautifully with government's most pressing needs" but also some characteristics that could pose challenges for both employee and employer.

As the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is rolled out, it seems every industry and/or sector is analyzing ways in which its provisions could help. The American Library Associaton has just established a website for this purpose. In fact, you can design your own stimulus package via the Center for American Progress' interactive calculator.

The Center for Social Media has a new white paper, Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics.

The Fresh News Theme blog posts a Cluetrain Manifesto-eque list of twenty Government 2.0 theses.

Civic Engagement Summit, Local Layoffs Data, and more

2009-02-16T09:28:00.011-05:00

Docuticker has some links to the text and related documents of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Hampton Roads Partnership blog posts about the 2009 Hampton Roads Civic Engagement Summit being held April 4th. Visit the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement website for more and for registration info.
The Providence Journal reports on a new transparency website for Rhode Island.
The Urban Institute has a new policy brief, It's Not Easy Being Gray: The New Rules of Retirement, which "summarizes a wide-ranging discussion of retirement issues to explore how public policies might adapt to an aging population."
Docuticker.com points to a new NOAA/U.S Fish & Wildlife study that "documents a continuing loss of coastal wetlands in the eastern United States." See Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States for more.
And with layoffs being reported daily, The Virginian-Pilot now has Virginia data going back to July 2007.

Transit Vision Plan, Offshore Drilling, and more

2009-02-13T14:44:00.008-05:00

The Pew Internet & American Life project has a new report, Twitter and Updating, which finds among other things that "As of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others."
As reported in the Virginian-Pilot, there's a new transit plan for Hampton Roads. See the Transit Plan's website or the draft Transit Vision Plan (available until March 13th) for more. The Hampton Roads Partnership blog also posted about it.
A blog post from the Institute for Southern Studies discusses possible exclusion of Virginia from any federal plans to ban offshore drilling.
Purdue University's Cooperative Extention Service has a publication to help local government's with the process for establishing wind energy ordinances. While aimed at Indiana localities, it still has some useful information.
American City & County reports that the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance "is offering $500,000 to the Southeastern city that makes the best proposal for forming a community energy alliance. The goal of the alliance is to retrofit homes and buildings in ways that save residents money on energy and water bills."
The February issue of Governing has some interesting articles, including one discussing whether property tax revenues will help save localities during this recession, another one the rise of green building ordinances, and yet another on how Millennials are changing the work place (technological expectations, etc.).

Government 2.0 news bytes, and more

2009-02-10T16:54:00.011-05:00

Portland (OR) now offers visitors assistance via Twitter, their twisitor center. See the Government Technology article or their visitor center for more

ICMA points to a CNN story on Microsoft's new viral video contest, "Bright Side of Government," inviting government IT professionals to submit videos explaining how they're using technology to reduce costs and improve services.
The New York Times has an AP story on a new program in Prince William County, VA to assist county employees purchase a home there.
NPR's MarketWatch provides some coverage of the announced plans for a government website to provide taxpayers with information about where/how the TARP money is being spent. Coming soon- FinancialStability.gov. See the Treasury Department's Emergency Economic Stabilization Act website for more.
Government Technology reports on a new study that identifies "billions of dollars in potential federal IT savings." Potential savings could come from implementing open source solutions, virtualization, and cloud computing/software as a service (SaaS). See the "The DIY Federal IT Bailout Report" (free registration required) for details.
The Pew Center on the States has a new report highlighting how four states, including Virginia (i.e. Virginia Peforms), using performance data to make budget decisions and save money. See their press release or the full report, "Trade-off Time" for details. Timely, considering the state's recent launch of Hampton Roads Performs.
A recent Congressional Research Service report focuses on the causes of the financial crisis using a nice table format to outline all the different factors.
BlogNetNews.com's Law Enforcement section recently included a link to the new blog from the San Francisco Office of Public Safety.

Green Economy, Stimulus Package websites, and more

2009-02-10T10:09:00.002-05:00

TheState.com reports on a group formed in South Carolina called the Midlands Area Joint Installation Consortium, or MAJIC, that "works with landowners near the bases to secure development rights, ensuring future base operations and training won’t be hindered. "

Gov. Kaine is interviewed by AdWeek regarding the "Virginia is for Lovers" slogan.
Moving at the Speed of Creativity blogs about a recent event in Newport News where educators, leaders, and parents spent a day discussing barriers to preparing students for 21st Century Skills.

The National Mining Association (NMA) has an updated report, The Economic Contributions of U.S. Mining in 2007.

The Virginian-Pilot ran an article Sunday about the potential for wind farms off the Virginia coast. See also the August 2008 Virginian-Pilot article covering the same study by the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium. For more, see their Wind Energy website and the one-page poster illustrating the wind power potential off the Virginia coast.
ICMA points to an article from The Des Moines Register on the 88 layoffs and budget cuts there. One interesting note is the savings they've seen from privatizing certain services, "Clark said proposals to privatize various operations — custodial, mowing and trimming in particular — produced higher than expected savings and in some cases, double their original projections."
ICMA also points to The Washington Post article about Montgomery County, MD's new policy directing police to "start telling federal immigration authorities the names of all suspects they arrest for violent crimes and handgun violations..."
Docuticker points to a series of short reports from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that include state-level data. See the report on Virginia for substance abuse, mental health, and treatment facilities data.
Greenbiz.com reports on their second annual State of Green Business report. See also a related report, High Road or Low Road: Job Quality in the New Green Economy.
The Rocky Mountain Institute has a new report that "indicates that shoring up performance gaps through energy efficiency could not only cut consumption by 30 percent, but also eliminate the need for more than 60 percent of coal-fired generation..." See Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity for details.
Britian's Department for Culture, Media, and Sport has a new interim report, Digital Britain, which "contains more than 20 recommendations, including specific proposals on:
next generation networks, universal access to broadband, the creation of a second public service provider of scale, the modernisation of wireless radio spectrum holdings, a digital future for radio, a new deal for digital content rights, and enhancing the digital delivery of public services." See the full report for more.
EnvironmentalLeader.com reports on a Daily Press article on the death of a proposed statewide ban on plastic bags. I noticed just today that The Virginian-Pilot was delivered in a plastic bag made from recyled materials and reminds customers that many local businesses collect plastic bags for recycling.
WSLS out of Roanoke points to an article from the Danville Register & Bee regarding a new study by three consulting firms working for Virginia Uranium Inc. that "says southwest Virginia has enough skilled workers for a proposed uranium mine near Chatham." Although I couldn't find this report on their website, I did discover their Feb 2nd report, Technical Report on the Coles Hill Uranium Property, Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
There's an announcement today that Gov. Kaine has established a Stimulus Package website to gather citizen input and ideas. And similar to other "stimulus watch" websites, another is ShovelWatch.com.

Just a Few Items...

2009-02-05T13:08:00.007-05:00

Washington Governor Gregoire establishes a budget website with various calculators to help citizens not only learn more about the process and situation but also to offer suggestions.
Minneapolis has done something similar- see their 2009 budget website for more information.
Emergency Management has an article on the importance of regional cooperation and collaboration to prepare for disasters.

Google Book Search now offers over 1.5 million books viewable via mobile devices. Nice!

Stimulus Watch, Hampton Roads Performs, and more

2009-02-03T11:56:00.016-05:00

In preparing for Thursday's Keeping Up training, we discovered Stimulus Watch, a government transparency website which "was built to to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly, and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. We do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed "shovel-ready" projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes." Very cool. View and consider rating the Virginia Beach "ready-to-go" projects listed at this website.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation now has its 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment available.

Deloitte, LLP has a great debate now available, Gen Y - or Gen Whine? (subtitle: Do Gen Y workers really deserve more of your attention, or is it better to let them just grow up?).
Wired has an article on information overload, what one scholar has coined "'agnotology.' Derived from the Greek root agnosis, it is "the study of culturally constructed ignorance."
Governing's 13th Floor blog has a post about growing discussion of collaboration, cooperation, and consolidation as possible solutions to local governments' budget deficits.

Docuticker points to an issue brief by the National Governors Association, "State Workforce Activities to Support Mission Growth."

The AARP Policy & Research unit has a new report on the potential benefits of phased retirement plans, citing that "Older workers express considerable interest in scaling back their work hours prior to full retirement, and many analysts and older worker advocates contend that such work options could prolong working life."

Vivian Paige blogs about a new state website, HamptonRoadsPerforms.org, an extension of the state's peformance measurement website, Virginia Performs. See also the brief item in the Daily Press about it.

Research on "town centers," Mileage Taxes, 10 Principles of Social Media, and Infrastructure Investment by Pension Funds?

2009-02-02T08:46:00.029-05:00

The Hampton Roads Partnership's blog posts about the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization's long-term light rail vision for the region, citing a December Daily Press article on the HRMPO's recent move to shift $3M from Newport News to Norfolk to assist with the growing costs of its light rail development.

Docuticker points to a report by the Park City Center for Public Policy/Johns Hopkins University, Defending Cyberspace: Protecting Individuals, Government Agencies and Private Companies Against Persistent and Evolving Threats.

Policelink.com reports that "the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System plans to invest up to $50 million in the new North Tarrant Express private toll road" and expects roughly 10% of the profits in return.

In a similar vein, American City & County reports on a new publication by The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles which suggests "a combination of public and institutional pension funds and individual retirement accounts, along with Social Security Trust Funds could be used to finance public works projects." See Not the Macquarie Model: Using U.S. Sovereign Wealth to Renew America's Civil Infrastructure for more.

The Avenging Archangel blog posts about the Pembroke Area Implementation Plan charrette, day 2 and links to a Virginian-Pilot article about it, too.

Government Technology provides an interview with Richmond, VA's Public Safety Team project manager, Bill Hobgood, about their technology standard that "lets alarm companies automatically transmit alerts to local 911 centers. Alarm companies typically call 911 centers when an alarm is triggered. Richmond's Public Safety Data Interoperability Project - involving one alarm company and two 911 centers - eliminated 5,000 calls during a two-year pilot. Richmond is making the standard a law for its 911 centers..." For more, see Mr. Hobgood's presentation at the 2008 Virginia APCO/NENA Fall Conference & Exposition.

The Government Accounting Office has a new report on base realignments and focuses on actual cost savings from such decisions, sometimes lower than first projected. See the report or highlights for more.

Docuticker also points to a new report by ICF International, commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, which concludes that "The development of America’s vast domestic oil and natural gas resources that had been kept off-limits by Congress for decades could generate more than $1.7 trillion in government revenue, create thousands of new jobs and enhance the nation’s energy security by significantly boosting domestic production..." See the press release, summary report, or final report for more.

This past January FEMA released its National Disaster Housing Strategy See the press release, full report, or National Disaster Housing Strategy Annexes for more.

The National Library of Medicine now has links to several resources under the umbrella title, Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings.
Yet another Docuticker posting links to a new report by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Center for Hospitality Research, North America’s New Town Centers: Time to Take Some Angst Out and Put More Soul In, which discusses "architectural sameness" among "town centers" and how in reality they're merely a collection of restaurants and retail chains as opposed to "truly usable public spaces." Solutions to break out of this rut "include the retail brands’ increasing insistence on matching brand message with the wider brand environment, a more assertive role of hospitality operators in the design process as they become ever more cognizant of their crucial contribution to success, the public’s awareness of groundbreaking design, and the push toward sustainability. One other helpful approach might include the involvement of a knowledgeable peer group that would help target designs to local markets, in place of “stock” designs."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on the potential of states' implementing mileage taxes, calculated using technology installed in vehicles and gas stations to measure distance between fill-ups.

The UK's Power of Information Taskforce now has its final report available in beta and delivered via a wiki for a two-week comment period. Of particular interest is the "Innovate and co-create with citizens online" section and the "Open up the policy dialogue online" section. See also their main webpage and the intro for background info.
Social Computing Magazine has started its series, 10 Principles of Social Media, starting with "Associations are inherently good."
PBS' MediaShift blog posts about how "niche bloggers fill gaps left by local newspapers, alt-weeklies." One way to learn what loca blogs are out there is to visit BlogNewNet.com/Virginia as well as its Hampton Roads section.

Geocaching Tourism, Open Government, and some Dilbert

2009-01-30T09:29:00.028-05:00

Governing's Idea Center has a great article on how the Maryland Municipal League is using Geocaching events to promote its cities and boost tourism revenue. VERY cool idea!

Inside Business reports that a new bill proposed by Del. James P. "Jimmie" Massie III, R-Henrico County, would "transfer the duties of the VDBA to the partnership, the state’s economic development agency." See also the November 2008 report by the Secretary of Commerce and Trade that's mentioned in this article.

Stateline.org points to a Los Angeles Times article which reports that Gov. Schwarzenegger can move forward with his plan to require all state employees to take two days of unpaid leave every month.

Docuticker points to a new report by The Century Foundation, A Plan to Extend Super-Fast Broadband Connections to All Americans.

The National Federation of Independent Business has released the results of a study on "the potential impact of a national employer mandate on small businesses to provide healthcare." Not surprisingly, the results show that "an employer mandate would have significant negative impacts on local jobs and on state revenues, particularly considering the rising costs of health insurance." See the press release, full report, or fact sheet for more.

Free Government Information reports that the federal government has rolled out some new web 2.0 tools- a government-wide RSS feed for breaking news and a gadgets gallery for various widgets available.

Avenging Archangel posts about the first day of the charrette on the Pembroke Area Implementation Plan, aka Town Center's Strategic Growth Area.

Another Docuticker post points to a new document by the Homeland Security Council Interagency Policy Coordination Subcommittee for Preparedness & Response to Radiological and Nuclear Threats, Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation: First Edition.

Another great resource listed at the Scout Report is the Digital Research Tools wiki established by the head of the Digital Media Center at Rice University. I'll definitely be able to refer to this to prep for my trainings!

IWS points to a new report by the Work Foundation in the UK, Changing Relationships at Work, which "demonstrates the importance of workplace relationships to job satisfaction and highlights the role that technologies can play in creating and maintaining these links."

Another IWS lead is the Knight Citizen News Network's The Citizen Journalist's Guide to Open Government, which is "an extensive multimedia e-learning module to help new media makers understand how to obtain public records and get into public meetings..."

Government Technology reports on Sunshine Week, which focuses on government transparency and is scheduled for March 15-21. Related to that is a government accountability/transparency blog by the Association of Government Accountants, the AGA Weblog.

Mashable posts about "the top 10 social networks for Generation Y," guest-blogged by the author of the forthcoming book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.
The Kept Up Librarian blogs about a new report by the New America Foundation, Bridging the Gap: How to Strengthen the Pk-16 Pipeline to Improve College Readiness.

And apparently even Dilbert is having financial trouble. Read/listen to the interview with Scott Adams via Public Radio's Marketplace. See also the two Dibert comic strips associated with this story.

Infrastructure Report Card, Internet Demographics, and the Birth of Internet News video

2009-01-29T10:22:00.018-05:00

The American Society of Civil Engineers has just published its 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. See also their 5 Key Solutions to the problems.

The U.S. Census recently released 2007 Educational Attainment data for the U.S. and found that 11 percent of foreign-born people have advanced degrees compared to 10% of U.S.-born residents. See the press release or full report for more.

The Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project has the results of a recent survey that found that ..."nearly half (46%) of the public would rather live in a different type of community from the one they’re living in now — a sentiment that is most prevalent among city dwellers. When asked about specific metropolitan areas where they would like to live, respondents rank Denver, San Diego and Seattle at the top of a list of 30 cities, and Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati at the bottom. "

The Political Economy Research Institute at the Univ. of Massachusetts published a report in Sept. 2008, Green Recovery – A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, which reports "that a short-term green stimulus package would create two million jobs nationwide over two years." See the press release for an overview.

NPR had a story last Friday about how the recession is increasing library use- from computer use, to checking out movies, to librarians becoming "unofficial job counselors."

The Pew Internet & American Life project has a new report, Generations Online 2009, which finds, among other things, that "The biggest increase in internet use since 2005 can be seen in the 70-75 year-old age group. While just over one-fourth (26%) of 70-75 year olds were online in 2005, 45% of that age group is currently online."

And oh the irony!! TechCrunch posts about this 1981 tv news story about "the birth of internet news" via CompuServe. Some interesting things to note: The Virginian-Pilot & Ledger-Star was one of eight papers experimenting with this service. The print edition of the San Francisco Examiner was $.26 versus the $5/hour CompuServe service. It also took 2 hours to download the entire newspaper via phone modem! And I second Robin's vote for favorite quote by an editor interviewed for the story, who said, "This is an experiment. We’re trying to figure out what it’s going to mean to us, as editors and reporters and what it means to the home user. And we’re not in it to make money, we’re probably not going to lose a lot but we aren’t going to make much either." Recent news related to this topic include one from The Guardian that reports the LA Times is now generating enough revenue from online advertising to cover all its costs, and this story by The Atlantic that speculates about the future of The New York Times and other large publications facing financial trouble. See also this recent TechCrunch post regarding the NYT. And lastly, see also the Mashable post about the latest media statistics.

Alliance for Innovation wikis, The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2009, and more

2009-01-28T09:44:00.021-05:00

ICMA recently posted an article from the Florida League of Cities, "The Four-Day Work Week: Would It Work for Your City?"

Governing has a post on the potential and importance of mass collaboration using web 2.0 tools.
We blogged earlier about a new Alliance for Innovation document, Navigating the Financial Crisis. Well, they've taken it a step further and created a corresponding wiki. Cool! Be sure to also see their main AI wiki.
Today's ICMA news briefing points to a study out of San Antonio recommending more public transit, including light rail. See the article from the San Antonio Express-News. Although not updated yet, check back with the Transportation Task Force website in the near future to see if the report is linked there.
Fredericksburg.com reports that a proposed state law would allow local governments to charge $10 per speeding ticket to help pay for the costs of gas for the police or sheriff's department.

Docuticker.com points to a Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining report that finds that "U.S taxpayers and the federal treasury stand to lose an estimated $1.6 billion in potential revenue over the next decade. The report links the revenue loss to outdated policies that subsidize the mining of gold, uranium and other metals on federal public lands."

Jeff Jarvis blogs at HarvardBusiness.org about the World Economic Forum currently underway in Switzerland. In this post, he talks about The Edelman Trust Barometer 2009 survey results presented there, which found "plummeting trust in financial, government, and journalistic institutions: 62% of adults in 20 countries trust companies less than they did a year ago. Trust in government is even lower."

Another tip from Docuticker is the brief Deloitte LLP report, Let the Games Begin: a new platform for virtual learning and skill enhancement, which states, "Traditional learning methods have proven to be inadequate to produce the cutting-edge knowledge and complex skills needed to perform 21st century jobs; so savvy businesses are turning to gaming technology to fill the gap."

The University of Virginia has a new press release about a study done there on travel safety in Virginia. According to the lead researcher, "This research demonstrates that the danger of leaving home is much greater in low-density suburbs and exurbs than in higher-density cities and inner suburbs." VB was found to be one of the top 10 safest jurisdictions.

Harvard Business Review has released its "20 Breakthrough Ideas for 2009" list. See the HBR Editors Blog for an overview.

Out-of-School-Time Programs report/calculator, Zero Hour video game for EMS, and more

2009-01-27T11:01:00.022-05:00

Governing points to a video game created for George Washington University's Office of Homeland Security called Zero Hour.
Governing's 13th Floor blog points to a map created by the Center for American Progress that "accounts for allocation of 66 percent of the $825 billion stimulus money."

Business Week reports that "Connecticut lawmakers are considering a plan to share some state sales tax revenues with cities and towns that cooperate with one another on issues such as purchasing and economic development."
Meeting Strategies Worldwide has put out their 2009 State of Sustainable Meeting Industry report, which discusses "trends and economic factors that are affecting us all, and then provide you with some ideas to address emerging areas of policy, human interest and technology for events."

The Wallace Foundatio has a new report on out-of-school-time programs, which finds "that costs vary widely depending on a range of factors from program goals to times of operation and the ages of the children served." Also available is their Out-of-School-Time Cost Calculator.
Next American City points to an article in The Sacramento Bee on the possibility of officially sanctioned homesless camps as it copes with the 2,500+ homeless people living in the city.
President Obama's administration has established another website, Recovery.gov, this time for transparency once the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is passed. Read more about this legislation at the Congressional Budget Office Director's blog.
Docuticker points to the Energy Information Administration's analysis of the impacts of the 2008 hurricane season on the country's natural gas industry.
The AppGap posts about a recent article on the impact workplace noise has on employees in an open-plan office spaces.
Docuticker also points to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change that finds that "[t]he proportion of children and working-age Americans who went without a prescription drug because of cost concerns jumped to one in seven in 2007, up from one in 10 in 2003..."
Fast Company reports on a recent study that found that pencil-and-paper problem solving activities are just as effective as Nintendo-type brain teaser games such as Brain Age and improving memory, logical thinking, and mathematical skills.

HRT Blogging, Phil Mousepower on YouTube, and more

2009-01-26T09:31:00.013-05:00

The Center for Education Policy has released a series of papers all under the title, Rethinking the Federal Role in Elementary and Secondary Education.

American City & County reports on the findings of a study done by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) which finds that "Disease management and wellness programs are more popular than consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) among public sector employers that are seeking ways to reduce health care costs..." See the IFEBP press release for details.
ICMA has a new report done by the Alliance for Innovation and written to help local governments deal with the economic crisis. See Navigating the Financial Crisis: Tested Strategies for Local Leaders for more.
The Ideas for Hampton Roads Transit blog posts that Hampton Roads Transit, or the HRT, now blogs, too!
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the VA Department of Taxation now has a new "spokesperson," Phil Mousepower, and a YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Another Virginian-Pilot article discusses a new transportation report by ODU that concludes adding more lanes and a third bridge-tunnel would alleviate traffic congestion at the HRBT. Visit the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization's website for the presentation on these findings.
There was mention recently in the news that the Navy can now conduct sonar trainings off the Atlantic coast. See the NOAA news release for details about the rules its set up for this practice.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has released 2006 state-level data on small businesses in the U.S. See also the Virginia profile.
Hotel News Service reports on 2008 data for the U.S. hotel industry, including "... Phoenix, Arizona (-11.2 percent), Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia (-8.7 percent) and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida (-7.2 percent) suffered the largest occupancy declines among the Top 25 markets."

Tech-heavy blog post- sorry!

2009-01-23T09:01:00.018-05:00

An update from Computerworld indicates that the White House Twitter account reported on yesterday is in fact not affiliated with the White House at all. Ah well... to see what government agencies are twittering, see the GovTwit directory.

Free Government Information points to a Government Technology article on the President's new TIGR (Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform) team. See the posting and YouTube video with D.C's CTO at the Change.gov website.

A relatively new offering at Goverment Technology is the weekly video news report, GovVlog.

One of the latest additions to our blogroll (the blogs/rss feeds we monitor) is the blog at Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Although some are completely corporate, other books blogged about deal with leadership, project management, productivity, and more.

GigaOm posts about a new Pew Internet & American Life project survey of Americans NOT on the web - questions of broadband access, the ROI of getting online, etc are all discussed. GigaOm writes, "The responses show that getting citizens online will have to involve more than laying fiber or even subsidizing subscriptions — they need to be convinced going online is worth it. That translates into millions of citizens who are getting left behind, most likely the oldest and poorest among us. How can the tech community reach them — not just with cable, but with compelling content?"

Mashable posts about a new Washington Post wiki, WhoRunsGov.com, which "aims to harness the collective intelligence of Washington Post contributors, the general public, and dynamically generated content for a comprehensive view of each of the powerful people that make up our government. At the core of the site is roughly 250 profiles that include pertinent information, an at a glance overview that includes available contact information, a more complete write-up on the official’s political path, voting records, key associates, and related news across the web." Although currently limited to the Post's editorial staff, future plans do involve allowing registered users to edit profiles or create new ones.

Docuticker points to the latest poverty guidelines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This information came via another blog, IWS Documented News Daily, a resource maintained by the Director of the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University.

One item from IWS is new Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Americans' transition between age 20 and 21. Among the findings, "At age 21, women are more likely to be enrolled in college than men, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Among 21-year-olds not enrolled in college, men are more likely than women to be employed in a civilian job or serving in the military."

Other BLS statistics recently released include Volunteering in the United States, 2008.

The RAND Corporation has a new document, Domestic Trends in the United States, China, and Iran: Implications for U.S. Navy Strategic Planning. See the summary or full document for more.
Government Technology has a few new interesting items, including one piece on the Rhode Island DOT using Twitter, Blogger, MySpace, etc., another on "stemming the retirement tide" of IT workers, and yet another on the use of video surveillance systems in law enforcement.
There is a growing number of state-level transparency websites for general operational funding, but here's one on how Caliornia spends its bonds once they're passed. Read more via Government Technology.
And one last nod to Government Technology for their article on San Francisco's Solar Maps tool that lets citizens "get an analysis of how much solar power their roof could harness."

Cops 2.0, The White House on Twitter, Social Networking at Work research, and more

2009-01-21T16:43:00.030-05:00

We recently discovered Cops 2.0 via Govloop.com. Their tag line: "branding police work via social media." Nice!
ResourceShelf.com points to the new Presidential memorandums on Transparency and Open Government and the Freedom of Information Act. See also the Ethics Commitments Executive Order for Executive Branch Personnel.
A Virginia Tech news release reports on a collaboration between researchers at the VT Center for Geospatial Information Technology and the Virginia's Department of Emergency Management "to develop part of a revised statewide plan for communities to identify these risks, vulnerabilities, and estimate potential losses." The complete Standard & Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan should be approved and released by early 2010.
The Virginian-Pilot reports on Suffolk City Council's unanimous approval for a landfill-gas energy project which would convert methane gas from the regional landfill there into electricity and steam, the first in the state. It will generate green energy and green jobs. The article also mentions that there's a landfill-gas energy project at the Mount Trashmore II landfill - who knew?
Docuticker points to an article from New England Journal of Medicine that concludes reductions in air pollution have contributed to an increase in life expectancy rates in urban areas.
Another report featured at docuticker.com is one from Exelencia in Education, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Promoting the Education & Advancement of Hispanic Immigrant Workers in America, which examines six innovative partnerships between community colleges and industry that are preparing young hispanic immigrants for the future workforce. See the fact sheet for more.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has a 2007 report on the electric power industry. We blogged recently about other new DOE reports by the Electricity Advisory Committee.
ResourceShelf also posts about a new online calculator by the USDA, the Cost of Raising a Child calculator. See the news release for details. Based on my information and the 2007 data they're basing the calculations on, it costs my family over $14,000 per year to raise my 3 year old, about $500 more than the national average. And that's not including all the toy cars! :)
There's more coverage of the new Administration's use of new media, including this article from Computerworld on the White House Twitter account's rising number of followers (almost 16,000 as of today). On a related note, The Washington Post reports on the technological challenges the new administration faced on its first day in the White House.
The Center for Digital Technology has new 2008 Digital States survey results which rank Virginia #3.
The latest My Virginia Beach podcast from the Media & Communications Group (MCG) highlights the proposed animal shelter and the new wildlife ordinance.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that state officials there have conceded that the four-day workweek experiment for state employees "probably won't save the $3 million originally predicted." Visit the Utah Governor's Work4Utah press release for more on their cost-savings estimates.
A new report by NASA, the Univ. of Washington, and other agencies indicates significant warming of Antarctica's western region over the last 50 years. Read the NASA news release for more.
The New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE have jointly release the 2009 Horizon Report, which forecasts emerging technology trends in higher education for the next five years. This year's Horizon Project Advisory Board identified six overall trends-"mobile devices, cloud computing, geo-everything, the personal web, semantic-aware applications, and smart objects..."
The Librarians' Internet Index recently highlighted Civic Ventures, which "is leading the call to engage millions of baby boomers as a vital workforce for change. Through an inventive program portfolio, original research, strategic alliances, and the power of people´s own life stories, Civic Ventures demonstrates the value of experience in solving serious social problems – from education to the environment and health care to homelessness. Founded in 1998 by social entrepreneur and author Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures works to define the second half of adult life as a time of individual and social renewal."
With more college students and their families struggling to keep up with the costs of higher education, it may be useful to read the Publishers Weekly article that reports on a partnership between BookSwim.com and BookRenter.com that provides students with a new option for renting college textbooks.
The AppGap points to a new research paper by IBM on employees' use of their internal social networking site called Beehive.

The White House Blogger, Report: US Metro Economies, and more

2009-01-21T08:39:00.018-05:00

Free Government Information points to a recent article in The Atlantic, "iGov: How Geeks are Opening Up Government on the Web," which "examines the possibilities when government agencies allow access to their raw data in an open, standard file format."

Business Week reports that IBM will be outsourcing to other U.S. locations instead of overseas, a possible trend that could help the economy and future workforce.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has another new report, U.S. Metro Economies: The Engines of Economic Recovery, which forecasts a 6.3 unemployment rate for the Norfolk-VB-NN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for the fourth quarter of 2009, almost 15,000 more unemployed folks than from the same quarter in 2008.

We posted yesterday about the newly revised WhiteHouse.gov website. Now comes news that there's a White House blog and a "first blogger" - the Director of New Media for the White House.

Engineering News-Record outlines how much money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 proposed by the House Committee on Appropriations would be spent in the construction industries- infrastructure, housing, buildings, etc. For more, see the Committee's press release, the bill's full-text, the full-text of the report, or the supporting economic analysis.

Governing's Shelley Metzenbaum offers local government officials a strategy for explaining to citizens the painful budget process and the choices facing them.

Danah Boyd, an expert in teens' use of online social networks has recently posted her dissertation online, Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics.
U.S. News writes about offering or taking away employee benefits/perks in these economic times.

Red-Light Cameras, U.S. Electricity Supply forecast, Infrastructure "Ready-to-Go" reports, U.S. 2008 Foreclosures Data, and more

2009-01-20T12:14:00.027-05:00

TheNewspaper.com reports on a House Bill in Virginia that would remove VDOT from the entire red-light camera installation process in the state. See also their articles on VDOT studies of red-light cameras, including one from 2005 and another in 2007, both of which indicate an increase in accidents at intersections with red-light cameras. We blogged last month about a recent report out of Houston- see thenewspaper.com's article about it for more.

A December issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology has an article that examines the differences between drivers talking with passengers in the car versus talking on a cell phone.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released it FY 2008 Citizens’ Report, which "highlights the agency’s achievements in promoting nuclear safety and security while adhering to the principles of regulatory independence, transparency, and reliability."

Docuticker.com points to the December issue of the Airport Wildlife Mitigation Newsletter by the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (via FAA).
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on the defeat of the no-excuse absentee voting bill proposed introduced this month by Gov. Kaine.
The American Journal of Public Health just published an online article that reports results of a survey of the health and health care availability of prisoners in local jails across the nation.
Docuticker also points to a new report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, Improving Quality of Life Through Telecommuting, which, "calls for government to pursue policies to accelerate and maximize telecommuting, including spurring the deployment and adoption of broadband, which is an essential facilitator of telecommuting."
Ars Technica posts about a new DOE report (actually, there are three reports in this series) which "paints bleak picture of our electric future."
The RAND Corporation also has a new report, Unfolding the Future of the Long War: Motivations, Prospects, and Implications for the U.S. Army.
Government Technology writes that the U.S. Conference of Mayors has "released the fourth in its series of reports on infrastructure projects that are “ready to go” in cities across the nation -- projects that meet local infrastructure needs and contribute to local economic development goals, that can be funded quickly through existing federal channels and which could start quickly when funding is received." Visit the MainStreet Economic Recovery Report website for additional documents and information.
Another Docuticker.com post points to the 2008 U.S. Foreclosures report by RealtyTrac, which indicates an 81% overall increase from 2007. See the press release for more, including various tables. The Norfolk-VB-NN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) reported 5,662 properties with filings in 2008, a 207% change from 2007.
AARP has a just released results of a survey of adults 18 years and older on volunteerism perceptions and realities. One of the key findings was that, "Three out of four respondents would choose to give time (73%) over money (16%) to help solve a national problem. However, respondents also feel that requests for monetary donations have increased (34%) more than requests for volunteer time (11%)."
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has just released the first report of the Oversight Board for the quarter ending 12/31/08, one of the components of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
AI Magazine has a new article, "The information ecology of social media and online communities."
The Government Printing Office (GPO) website now has links to the 2009 Economic Report of the President, written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.
Finance & Commerce, out of Minneapolis, reports that St. Paul and "... Baltimore plan to form a “National Multi-City Litigation Working Group on Foreclosures” through the International Municipal Lawyers Association to coordinate and leverage municipal legal interests. The working group would be open to any city that is currently in litigation or contemplating litigation against mortgage lenders."
The Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the Rio Grande Foundation have just released their 2008 New Mexico Piglet Book, "focusing on government waste, fraud, and abuse in the New Mexico state budget." Clever name!
Government Technology also reports on the newly revamped Whitehouse.gov website, now that President-Elect is now President.

Learning from Online Gaming, new MMS Offshore Drilling plan, Coastal Sea-Level predictions, and more

2009-01-16T13:54:00.013-05:00

Today's Scout Report points to a December 2008 RAND document, Occupational Safety and Health for Public Safety Employees: Assessing the Evidence and the Implications for Public Policy.
We blogged recently about a survey of employers that indicated more of them are starting to offer their employees on-site health clinics. Now comes word that Marcopia County, AZ has just started doing just that.

Business Week has a great article pointing out how organizations could learn a lot about performance measurement and management by looking at the structure and scoring system of the massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft.
Another Business Week article urges school systems to embrace current technology by moving beyond giving out laptops to taking advantage of what kids already have- cell phones and other mobile devices - and incorporating them into curricular activities.
CQ Politics reports that the Interior Department has just released its plan for new offshore drilling, 2010-2015. Visit the MMS website for more.

Also of potential interest is the Cape Wind Energy Project and its related MMS documents, including the new Project Fact Sheet and the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
The EPA has just released its report, "Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region."

Offshore Drilling, Renewable Energy Industry forecasts, Informal Learning Environments, Arts as Economic Stimulus, and more

2009-01-16T09:51:00.040-05:00

The Washington Post reports on the increasingly controversial topic of coal ash disposal methods and the regulations on them. Locally this has been in the news related to water quality tests near a Chesapeake golf course. See also the New York Times article and the recent Virginian-Pilot article on this topic. To learn more, visit the EarthJustice website, an environmental law organization, and their recent report, Waste Deep: Filling Mines with Coal Ash Is Profit for Industry, But Poison for People.

Greenbiz.com reports on the U.S. Climate Action Partnership's new document, "A Blueprint for Legislative Action," which "gives extensive recommendations for implementing a nationwide carbon emission reduction program."
Another report highlighted by Greenbiz.com is "Defining, Estimating and Forecasting the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries in the U.S. and in Colorado" by both the American Solar Energy Society and Management Information Services, Inc. See the ASES news release for more information.

A third report mentioned at Greenbiz.com is by the Electric Power Research Institute and entitled "Assessment of Achievable Savings Potential From Energy Efficiency and Demand Response in the U.S." One of its conclusions is, "With the help from efficiency programs, energy users in the U.S. could reduce the growth rate of consumption by 22 percent in the next 20 years -- a reduction equivalent to 14 times the electricity used annually in New York City, ..." See the press release, executive summary, or full report for more.

Government Technology writes about a new Pew Internet & American Life report on the rise in use of social networking sites among U.S. adults.

Docuticker.com points to two recent reports by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, "Housing Assistance for Low Income Households: States Do Not Fill the Gap " and "Renters in Foreclosure: Defining the Problem, Identifying Solutions " See the news release for more.
The Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity, and Accountability has new data on college spending - where the funds are coming from, how the money is being spent, how much college students are contributing, etc. See its Trends in College Spending website for details.
Another recent report is from the National Research Council on the impact informal learning environments can have on childrens' academic performance. See "Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits" for more.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness has a new report with data from 2007. See the latest Homelessness Counts for details. According to the state-level data, the percent of homeless people in VA has gone down 6% from 2005 to 2007.
The VB Dems blog posts about the offshore drilling debate, citing a letter to the U.S. Minerals Management Service published in Oil & Gas Journal by the American Petroleum Institute, American Exploration & Production Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, International Association of Drilling Contractors, Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, International Association of Geophysical Contractors, the US Oil & Gas Association, and National Ocean Industries Association. The key paragraph in the letter highlighted in the blog post reads, "While we support leasing in the area identified in the notice, we strongly urge that the area identified for analysis be increased to include all of the Atlantic OCS planning areas, or at least the entire Mid-Atlantic planning area, ..."
The Urban Institute has new data on the rising unemployment rate among older Americans.
The Washington Post has an article on a new report on illegal immigration indicating that "Although the U.S. economy's nosedive has probably contributed to a substantial drop in the number of illegal immigrants coming into the United States, those already here will be less motivated to return home,..."
Another state-level transparency website is now up, Nevada Open Government.
Docuticker.com points to another report, this time by the National Governors Association - "Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development." See also the press release for more.
The American Council on Education has a new report on older americans' participation in postsecondary education which concludes, "Despite successful efforts by some colleges and universities to create lifelong learning programs for adults aged 55 and older, many institutions remain stuck in outmoded, one-dimensional views of this population." See the press release or full report for details.
And in case you missed it, here are excerpts and the full text to Governor Kaine's State of the State address.

Enterprise 2.0 Predictions, Citizen Experience Study, Family Health History Tool, and more

2009-01-14T10:03:00.031-05:00

Several sources point to a new report indicating that online threats to children may not be as wide-spread as commonly thought. See the New York Times article for more. See the full report via the The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Governing columnist Stephen Goldsmith discusses privatization and how states may seriously consider it as they grapple with huge budget shortfalls.
A forthcoming article in the Journal of Law and Economics finds a direct correlation between economic downturns and a rise in traffic citations.
Government Technology reports on the new Citizen Experience Study designed by the Accenture Institute for Public Value. Of citizens surveyed in the United States, they found, among other things, that "... only 17 percent look favorably on the social and economic situation in the country, while 62 percent have a more negative perception. Public safety is seen as one of the government’s strengths, but the cost of living, security in retirement, and immigration control are considered to be problem areas. Government actions that are considered important but need improvement include how the government explains its spending on public services, the focus placed on societal issues, and whether the government encourages people to take personal responsibility."
Another item from GT reports on a new family health history tool just rolled out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CBSatlanta.com reports that the Martin Luther King, Jr. collection at Morehouse College is now online and available to the public. Just in time for African-American History Month...
The Daily Press reports on the public hearing held by the federal Minerals Management Service last night, where "Environmental activists and prominent Virginia Democrats banded together Tuesday to tell the federal government to abandon plans to open the state's coastline to oil and natural gas drilling by the end of 2011."
Dion Hinchcliffe offers his Enterprise 2.0 predictions for 2009, many of which are impacted/driving by the economic recession, including increased use of cloud computing/software as a service (think: Google Docs, etc.), more reliance on low-cost web 2.0 applications, an increased focus by organizations on online communities, and more mobile offerings.
Resourceshelf.com points to a new online tool to help policymakers and others compare health care reform proposals. Learn more via their press release.
Families USA has a new report, The Hidden Link: Health Costs and Family Economic Insecurity, which "shows why it will be impossible to restore family economic security without health reform that achieves quality, affordable coverage for all."
We blogged earlier this week about some online tools to help with project management and collaboration. Another new resource is TimZon, an online collaboration tool for virtual teams that's currently in beta and includes video!
The Fox News affiliate in Charlottesville reports on a new publication by Environment Virginia, Clean Energy, Bright Future: Rebuilding America Through Green Infrastructure.
The Environmental Defense Fund reports that New York City is the first U.S. city to win the international Sustainable Transport award from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Some of NYC's efforts in this area during 2008 included "[taking] 49 acres of road space, traffic lanes and parking spots away from cars and gave it back to the public for bike lanes, pedestrian areas and public plazas. Protected on-street bike lanes were part of the 140 miles (255 kilometers) of bike lanes implemented. Bike ridership increased by 35 percent from the past year. The city planted more than 98,000 trees, implemented a select bus service and introduced car-free Saturdays. The NYC Department of Transportation recycles 40 percent of the asphalt used to repair streets. " See also Mayor Bloomberg's statement about this honor.
Workforce Management reports on a recent survey revealing a rise in popularity among employers to offer employees on-site medical clinics. "Among the reasons cited by employers for offering work-site clinics: 86 percent said it was as a convenience for their employees; 77 percent cited better access to preventive care; 75 percent said it was to encourage employees to make better use of health and wellness programs; and 74 percent said it was to control overall health care spending."
Officer.com has a column on concerns over the increase in the number of citizens carrying concealed weapons and how it may impact policing. To learn more about concealed weapons and related VA laws, see the Virginia State Police website on concealed handguns.
And speaking of weapons, Free Government Information beat me to the punch by blogging first about CNN's coverage of the Army's new Army Experience Center (requires Adobe Flash 10- sorry!) in a Philadelphia mall that uses video games to "educate the general public about the careers available in the Army."

Technology tidbits, Library Cards as Gang Prevention, and more

2009-01-12T14:42:00.030-05:00

Government Technology offers a "Twitter primer" for CIOs and reports that the Yuma County, AZ CIO has delegated the management of the county's website to their Public Information Officer. GT also reports that the CIO of Washington, D.C. is considering expanding his Apps for Democracy mashups contest.
LISNews (library-related content) posts about a library card/literacy campaign in Salinas, CA that's serving as a gang prevention strategy.
The National Endowment for the Arts has a new report indicating that more Americans are reading literature, the first increase in 25 years.
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has released a new report on e-government, "Expanding E-Government: Achieving Results for the American People."
The National League of Cities and the Center for Digital Government, a part of Government Technology, have announced the 2008 Digital Cities Survey winners- and vbgov.com came in 2nd this year.
An interesting link from the Free Government Information blog is the article at FindLaw on federal record-keeping laws and asks whether they're outdated considering the ways people communicate these days.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has a new report, "Stalking Victimization in the United States" Highlights include, "About half (46%) of stalking victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week, and 11% of victims said they had been stalked for 5 years or more. Approximately 1 in 4 stalking victims reported some form of cyberstalking such as e-mail (83%) or instant messaging (35%). Women were at greater risk than men for stalking victimization; however, women and men were equally likely to experience harassment."
Change Waves, at Socialtechnologies.com, has posted about their predictions of how the recession will impact several social/technological trends.
If you didn't catch the news, the Virginian-Pilot now has a blog on VA politics, including this post about the General Assembly now providing live online video streaming of their floor proceedings. Here are the links for the video streams for the House and the Senate.
The Associated Press reports on states' efforts to generate revenue by creating a tax for internet sales.
WAVY.com reports on the VB Schools' Building Utilization Committee and the potential for school closings based on analysis of usage data, etc. See the committee's website for more information as it's updated.

Local Foreclosures, Health Care IT deployment, Online Project/Task Management Tools, and more

2009-01-12T09:05:00.026-05:00

We had a question last week about where to locate a list of current foreclosures in the area. The classifieds in the Virginian-Pilot have some, as does their website.

Fredericksburg.com reports that, "Two members of a state subcommittee charged with determining the scope of a uranium-mining study have accepted campaign donations from Virginia Uranium Inc. within the last year." Read more at the Go Dan River blog.

Docuticker.com points to a new study by the National Research Council that finds that, "Current efforts aimed at the nationwide deployment of health care information technology (IT) will not be sufficient to achieve medical leaders’ vision of health care in the 21st century and may even set back the cause..."
The Census Bureau just released its 2009 Statistical Abstracts, but they still have links to previous editions.

Terradaily.com reports that California has reached a 58% waste diversion rate, "...diverting 54 million tons of trash for reuse and recycling." Another interesting tidbit in this article states that, "Each year recycling saves enough energy to power 1.4 million California homes, and reduces water pollution by 27,047 tons."

With the New Year comes resolutions, one of which might be better organization at work and at home. AppGap.com blogs about Manymoon.com, which allows you to manage projects, tasks, and has a social networking aspect so you can collaborate with others. Another web-based tool I've used for this includes iTeamwork.com. Facebook also has an application, Get Stuff Done, which could serve many similar purposes.
Free Government Information (FGI) blogs about two new YouTube websites for Congress- one for the U.S. Senate, the other for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. They also blog about FEMA being on YouTube and Twitter. Interested in reading more about Twitter? See this recent First Monday article, "Social Networks that Matter: Twitter Under the Microscope."
And we've been posting about government transparency websites as we've come across them. The FGI blog has also posted a useful round up of these types of websites.
The New York Times reports on a possible delay in expanding offshore drilling due to a shortage of deep-sea drilling ships.
The Urban Place and Space blog posts about Neal Pierce's recent column in the Denver Post about a new report linking NYC's transit system to achieving sustainability.
In fact, in discovering more about Neal Peirce, I came across his Citistates Group website, including a series of reports on Charlotte and a new book we just ordered, Century of the City.
Docuticker has several good items from Saturday, including a report by the National Retail Federation on Retail Container Traffic, a construction labor force forecast from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, and a report by Families USA, "Squeezed: Caught between Unemployment Benefits and Health Care Costs."
The Pew Hispanic Center has a new report, Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes and Remittance Cuts.

Financial Meltdown website, Arlington Co. in SL, and more

2009-01-09T08:37:00.011-05:00

ResourceShelf.com points to a WCVB-Channel 5 report out of Boston on the new Financial Meltdown website launched by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The Urban Institute has some analysis of President-Elect Obama's Tax and Stimulus Plans.

Governing's 13th Floor blog posts that Arlington County, VA is now in Second Life! According to the Washington Post article cited in the post, the main purpose is economic development.

Government Technology reports on another government transparency website, this time from Maryland.

The Greenlining Institute posts about their latest report card on lending to minority-owned small businesses using 2008 data from the U.S. Small Business Administration. See also the press release for an overview.

The Scout Report links to the Pew Center on the State's "Trends to Watch" website, which "seeks to help state policy makers, the media, and the general public follow the major trends that determine if states thrive—or not—and track where the 50 states stand relative to each trend."

The New York Times reports on a possible federal investigation into the municipal bond industry, citing the news over Gov. Bill Richardson's dealings.

Economic Reports, Uranium Mining update, Indoor Smoking Bans, and more

2009-01-08T11:27:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office now has a new report, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on the public hearing held Tuesday night in Chatham by the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy's Uranium Mining Subcommittee and the concerns raised by residents over the potential health effects of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County. For more coverage, see the blog post at GoDanRiver.com.

Docuticker.com points to Quality Counts 2009 by Education Week.

Workforce Management reports on a new CDC study that concludes indoor smoking bans do reduce heart attack rates. Very relevant, since there are now reports that Gov. Kaine may push for smoking bans in restaurants. See the Virginia Business article for more.
Governing's January 2009 issue has one on the retirement gap and the potential to hire retirees to fill it...

Stateline.org points to an article from the Christian Science Monitor about preparing teachers to integrate "21st Century Skills" into the curriculum. To learn more, visit the Parternship for 21st Century Skills website. It's interesting to note that creativity is considered one of the most vital skills for the next century - that includes problem-solving, taking risks, being able to communicate new ideas to others, etc.

The Pew Center on the States has just released its report on overseas military voting, concluding that, "One-third of all U.S. states do not provide enough time to vote for military personnel stationed overseas and as many as half of all states need to improve their absentee voting process to ensure that the votes of servicemen and women abroad will be counted..." Viriginia is not one of the states identified as having problems.
A recent Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey assesses Americans' assessment of the nation's progress on national issues.

Docuticker.com points to the latest Treasury report to Congress for the month of December on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Government Technology has a good roundup of government agencies using Twitter to provide the public with emergency alerts, etc.

Government Transparency, Government 2.0, Reading Trails, and more

2009-01-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Appomattox News has an article on the Virginia Green website, a website promoting green tourism in the state.

One of our most reliable and valuable sources of information, Docuticker.com, is now Twittering.
Government Technology discusses the possible impacts the newly created federal Chief Technology Office may have on state and local government IT infrastructure and service.
USA Today reports that some cities, companies, etc. are providing free or preferred parking for those driving hybrid cars or SUVs.
Resource Shelf points to an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about a new state transparency website, Open.Georgia.gov, where visitors can "see state employee salaries, travel expenditures, agency spending and state financial reports."
ICMA has just released a new report, Customer Service and 311/CRM Technology in Local Governments: Lessons on Connecting with Citizens.
Mark Drapeau at PBS' Media Shift blog, posts about Government 2.0.
Mashable posts about a new kind of book website, Reading Trails, a new social network that lets users group books together under a common theme and then "intersections" are created to other "reading trails."

Gun Sales and Crime, Immigration Enforcement, Searching Social Media, and more

2009-01-05T08:32:00.026-05:00

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition has just released a report that, "uncovers the relationship between a state’s gun regulations and the likelihood that it will be a source of guns recovered in out-of-state crimes." See The Movement of Illegal Guns In America: The Link between Gun Laws and Interstate Trafficking for details - one item to note is the fact that Virginia is listed 6th among the top 10 states with the highest crime gun export rates.

Docuticker points to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2007.
ResourceShelf.com points to a new social media search engine, WhosTalkin.com, "that allows users to search for conversations surrounding the topics that they care about most." For example, a search for "virginia beach" yields results ranging from Twitter postings by visitors and residents to articles from The Virginian-Pilot and other local media.

Inside Business has posted an interview with mayor-elect Will Sessoms on YouTube, taped Nov. 13, 2008.

Mashable.com makes some predictions on how Twitter will change basic blog design in 2009.

The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research has just released its analysis of undergraduate students' use of technology and information technology for 2008. High use of mobile technologies, web 2.0, social networking sites, and high expectations for service and availability are all part of the findings.

Docuticker.com points to a new report out of the U.K.'s Department for Children, Schools and Families, 21st Century Schools: A World-Class Education for Every Child.

The Trust for Public Lands has a new report, produced under contract with the Fort Monroe National Park Foundation, Inc., in support of designating Fort Monroe a national park.

Stateline.org points to an article on attendance law waivers given to several Michigan school districts to allow students to take online courses from off-campus.

Web 2.0 in Government, Staying Organized in 2009, and more

2009-01-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

NPR recently did a piece on the LA Fire Department's "nimble" use of web 2.0 tools, including blogging and Twitter.
The Virginian-Pilot reports today that former Richmond mayor, Douglas Wilder, is now blogging at WilderVisions.com.

Lifehacker has a list of online tools to help you track/manage your New Year's resolutions. And another post talks about controlling your attention as the new work ethic.

Next American City has an article on a new coalition group formed by several mayors called Cities for Financial Empowerment, which "wants to reframe local government’s role in keeping residents with low and moderate incomes solvent. While the CFE’s approach varies from city to city, it always incorporates financial literacy programs that normally belong to the banking or non-profit sector."

The Daily Press has an interesting article on political blogging as Raising Kaine ends its four-year run as a Democratic blog.

Mashable posts about Feed Chronicle, an RSS feed reader that lets you display your feeds in a personalized newspaper format. Another find via Mashable is an online directory of Twitter users, Just Tweet It, which includes a section for Government.

To continue the Web 2.0 meme in this blog post, here's a post from TechCrunch on Obama's use of crowdsourcing to come up with questions for his Transition team to answer.

Stateline.org points to an article about the Annapolis PD, which is now using a three-wheeled scooter to get around and save in energy costs/consumption.

American City and County has its 2008 Crown Communities list, and VB is included.

American City and County also points to the IBM Government 2020 white paper, Government 2020 and the perpetual collaboration mandate, which predicts that by 2020, "government interactions will require "perpetual collaboration" across transnational agencies, societies, governments and constituencies. Starting now, governments must simultaneously deal with the effects of six nearly universal drivers that are reshaping our world, while building a foundation to promote the future prosperity of citizens."

Another scary-smart colleague of mine just shared this post from Global Nerdy regarding the Air Force's use of blogs and social media, including a great flow-chart outlining their "rules of engagement." See also the post from WebInkNow that's cited in this blog post.

Stateline.org also points to Minnesota Public Radio, which reports on the state's website that has a place for citizens to submit ideas for budget cuts. Not quite web 2.0, but still a nice gesture. It would be nice to see the other suggestions submitted, without names attached, or to allow citizens to vote on the ideas...
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that, despite all the coverage of the state's budget deficits, the state's annual operating budget has actually grown by about 2% per year since 1999. This data comes from the Report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to the Governor and General Assembly, dated 12/11/08.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

2008-12-31T08:32:00.003-05:00

Governing.com points to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about the scheduled closing of eleven library branches there to help fill the City's $1B budget gap over the next five years, but the Mayor is now proposing establishing public-private partnerships or a complete transfer to private foundations in order to keep them open as "knowledge centers." Today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a judge has ordered a halt to the library closings.

Governing.com also points to a Houston Chronicle article on a city-financed study that finds an increase in accidents at intersections with red-light cameras. See the full report for more.

Docuticker points to a new report on the future workforce skills needs in Europe to 2020 entitled, Future skill needs in Europe: focus on 2020.
The Daily Advance out of North Carolina reports that the U.S. Navy is continuing to study a site in Camden County as a potential landing field despite a recent soil survey "that suggests the location's soils aren't suitable for that purpose."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has new statistics on women in the labor force, including historical and current data.
Docuticker points to "2007 Summer Study: 2007 Summer Study: Challenges to Military Operations in Support of U.S. Interests," by the Defense Science Board. See the Executive Summary (vol. I) or the main report, volume II.
On another military note, I recently discovered that the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy has "The Iraq Index," which "is a statistical compilation of economic, public opinion, and security data" and is updated every Thursday.
The National Center for Education Statistics has new statistics on distance education at degree-granting instutions for 2006-07.
The Kept Up Academic Librarian points to a recent Opinion piece in the New York Times proposing replacing bachelor's degrees with certificate testing to gauge applicants' qualifications.
Lifehacker.com posts about a new book, The Power of Less, which our library has on order. Another new book soon to be available at the Central Library is David Allen's latest, Making It Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life.

Mashable.com posts about Governor Schwarzenegger's use of Twitter and microblogs to inform Californians about progess towards passing the state's budget. Another post from Mashable.com points to a November New York Times article on the California DMV's use of YouTube and MySpace to better reach and inform younger drivers.

Another web 2.0-related item includes a story from Wired on the Israeli government's YouTube Channel and the Israeli Consulate's Twitter account to disseminate about the current events in Gaza.

A link from Library Clips' delicious account points to the social media guidelines at Intel.

Workforce Management posts about a recent Congressional Budget Office report that looks at potential impacts that health care reform could have on the workforce. Read more about this and another recent CBO health care policy report via the CBO Director's blog.
And as we say goodbye to 2008, Leadershipnow.com has their latest list, "The Best Leadership Books of 2008."

Catching Up: Libraries, Social Media, Workforce Planning, and more

2008-12-29T10:00:00.028-05:00

A few library-related items have come across our radar, including the report from the American Library Association to the Obama transition team and the 2006 Public Libraries survey report by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The San Diego Tribune reports that the City and County's libraries will increase the number of self-checkout machines to handle an overall increase in library use but declining budgets.

We also just learned about a few items on the federal government's use of social media have recently been released, including "Social Media and the Federal Government: Perceived and Real Barriers and Potential Solutions" and the Webcontent.gov website with links to various reports.

The Arizona Republic reports on the first weekend of light rail in the Phoenix area as a success despite long lines and crowded trains.

The Los Angeles Times reports on a settlement between the U.S. Navy and several environmental groups regarding the Navy's use of sonar versus the protection of marine mammals.

The LLRX.com blog posts about various resources on "the deep web," or content not accessible by general web search engines.

See also the post at ResourceShelf.com about the social media search engine, SocialMention.com.

Government Technology reports that Utah's Governor recently released a report recommending ways to prepare the state's workforce for the 21st Century. See the press release for more and a link to the full-text.

USA Today reported last week on the latest study of the nation's most literate cities.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the federal government's latest efforts to open the CA coast to drilling.

Docuticker points to an Institute of Medicine report, HHS in the 21st Century: Charting a New Course for a Healthier America.

The EPA has a new progress report on the cap-and-trade program for nitrogen oxides and its impact on the Eastern U.S.

The USDA's Economic Research Service now has updated state fact sheets on top state commodities, exports, population data, etc. For more, see the fact sheet for Virginia.

The Aerospace Industries Association now has a special report focusing on workforce development and needs, "Launching the 21st Century American Aerospace Workforce."

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has a new status report on the state of hunger and homelessness in the U.S. See the press release or full report for details.

See also the U.S. Conference of Mayor's MainStreet Economic Recovery documents, including a list of infrastructure projects in VB generating new jobs.

The Children's Defense Fund has just released its 2008 State of America's Children report, which includes findings such as, "the number of poor children has increased nearly 500,000 to 13.3 million, with 5.8 million of them living in extreme poverty, and nearly 9 million children lack health coverage―with both numbers likely to increase during the recession. The number of children and teens killed by firearms also increased after years of decline." See the news release or full report for details.

The Los Angeles City Controller has just released a report studying potential public-private partnerships (P3s)to make up for lost revenue.

The Urban Institute has six "Recession and Recovery: Facts and Forecasts" briefs that might be worth a look.
The Orange County Register writes about a new report by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, "2008: Worst Waste of the Year," which looks more closely at certain federally-funded projects.

Energy Outlook 2009, Web 2.0 tidbits, VDOT's Revised Plans, and Jedi Librarians :)

2008-12-19T11:00:00.025-05:00

The Brookings Institution has a new report on vehicle miles traveled between 1991 and 2008, indicating the first drop in 28 years.
We often get requests for statistical information, so it's great to see that the 2009 Statistical Abstracts of the United States is now available, along with earlier editions.

Docuticker.com reports on a new U.S. energy forecast released by the Energy Information Administration.

An Unofficial Coast Guard blog points to the lastest issue of Coast Guard Magazine, which features Web 2.0 as its cover story.
Resourceshelf.com points to the latest Bivens Group survey of American newspaper websites and the extent to which they're offering Web 2.0 features such as user-generated content, commenting, social networking, etc. To a large extent, the majority, if not all of them, are now offering many of these features. Read another take on this data from TechCrunch.
WVEC reports on VDOT's revised Six Year Plan in response to the state's budget deficit, now delaying, "...the Route 17 Steel Bridge project in Chesapeake, improvement projects for the I-264 / I-64 interchange, the Lynnhaven interchange, and a plan to widen I-64 in Newport News." According to the VDOT news release, there will be several public hearings in early 2009, including one on January 7th at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission in Chesapeake.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that the newborn Northern Atlantic Right Whale found stranded on the Outer Banks has been euthanized. We just blogged a few days ago about new NOAA regulations for the shipping industry in an effort to protect this species. See the Richmond Times-Dispatch article or the NOAA website for more info.
The Free Government Information blog posts about a recent panel discussion at Google's Washington offices, ""Tech Agenda 2009: Open Government."

Mashable reports on the latest features to the web alert service called Notify Me, which sends you alerts via text message, IM, and now desktop application, as soon as your RSS feeds have been updated. How cool is that!?

The AARP Public Policy Institute has a new Insight on the Issues report, this time on the benefits of flexible workplaces to employers and older employees.
PSFK points to businesspundit.com, which reports on new research that indicates teens' use of digital media is important to their development.

Lifehacker posts about rolling your own NPR podcast feed. Might be a good use of my new iTunes account!

The Government Innovators Network at Harvard University recently posted about a new document, Overcoming Obstacles to Technology-Enabled Transformation.

The Library Clips posts recent additions to his delicious.com account and recently pointed to the Portals and KM (knowledge management) blog that highlights four examples of wikis being used in the enterprise. This is actually a really interesting blog, IMHO (in my humble opinion). See also another post, "Social Media Leads the Future of Technology – HBS Panel."
And again, because it's Friday, and it seems a high proportion of librarians are science fiction fans, here's a video clip from "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" via the Travelin' Librarian on Jacasta Nu, the Worst Librarian in the Galaxy - Enjoy!