Texas Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of a coalition of energy and environmental scientists, policy experts, academic researchers and state officials called the Gulf Project. The coalition will be tasked with making recommendations on designing safeguards to ensure that the state can respond effectively to the current spill and will never be vulnerable to [...]
Several states announced new broadband access plans last week. A national broadband expansion grants initiative was included in the federal stimulus package and a round of awards were given to states. Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon all announced awards in the tens of millions. Iowa was awarded $90 million for a variety of projects [...]
Washington has launched the nation’s first “electric highway,” a network of electric vehicle recharging stations along Interstate 5. The project will be a partnership between the state’s transportation and commerce departments and is supported by $1.32 in federal Recovery Act infrastructure funding. Once implemented, Washington will have the first border to border highway to offer [...]
On the heels of the controversial D.C. v. Heller decision which overturned Washington D.C’s handgun ban, the Supreme Court has gone further in its support for the second amendment with the McDonald v. Chicago ruling. Both rulings held that the second amendment applies both at the federal and state level. Which means that, an individual’s [...]
On Friday, California announced the formation of the state’s Disaster Corps – marking the first such Corps in the US. The Disaster Corps is designed to professionalize, standardize and coordinate all statewide disaster volunteers. Volunteers will now be registered by their local government organization and be required to meet training, certification and security guidelines.
Deliotte has issued a new report – “Medicaid Long-term Care: The Ticking Time Bomb,” which examines the long term impact that unchecked Medicaid spending will have on state budgets. According to the report, without serious action from state governments’ cost obligations to Medicaid enrollees could take over 35% of discretionary budget spending over time. CivSource [...]
Massachusetts broke ground on construction of a new state-of-the-art data center in Springfield. The data center will house the state’s electronic records, data systems, and provide a back up for the commonwealth’s current primary data center. The construction itself is expected to cost the state $110 million, but the state hopes that the result will [...]
On Friday, Maryland announced the launch of a first of its kind interactive map that helps users plan trips by highlighting tourism throughout the state. Users that to go the Visit Maryland Map will be able to search through the states natural, cultural, historical and recreation spots to plan their trips. The map was developed [...]
Digital security is always at the top of the priority list for public sector officials. Rocstor a California-based company is hoping to help governments manage their digital security, encryption and data storage with several product lines launched earlier this year. CivSource spoke with Rocstor Director, Ghadoushi Asher and VP of sales Anthony Rink about Rocstor’s [...]
Florida has announced a new website – Florida Gulf Recovery Jobs, a site which will allow job seekers to locate and apply for positions created to manage the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The site will act as a dedicated portal through the state’s official online job bank Employ Florida Marketplace. The Marketplace [...]
