New York’s Council for Universal Broadband released its first Annual Report this week, highlighting the Council’s efforts to ensure every New Yorker has access to affordable, high-speed broadband. Although New York State is ahead of the United States’ average in terms of broadband speeds, the Council is working to make universal broadband a reality with key benchmarks and initiatives.
The National Association of Counties’ Rural Action Caucus (RAC) recently returned from a “fly-in” advocacy effort in Washington, D.C. to promote rural America’s most pressing issues.
This week Microsoft released Stimulus360, a solution designed to help public sector agencies track, measure and share information about stimulus-funded projects. Josh Rice, Director of Microsoft’s Public Sector Incubation Team, spoke to CivSource about Stimulus360, measuring the economic impact of the stimulus and the future of open government.
Microsoft officially announced Microsoft Stimulus360 this afternoon, though details have been forthcoming from the company for a few weeks now. Microsoft Stimulus360 is touted as an all-inclusive look at “the full life cycle of economic stimulus programs to provide greater accountability at all levels” of government, according to company information.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contained $8.4 billion in stimulus funding for public transit systems accross the country. Yet transit agencies from New York to Atlanta, Madison to San Francisco are facing massive layoffs and service cutbacks to cover widening budget gaps.