21 Republican governors have sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for changes to the rules for new state-run health care exchanges outlined in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The letter asks Secretary Sebelius to make six changes to the rules or risk the federal government taking fullRead… Read more »
The state of California is trying to build more accountability into their information technology purchases. In a policy letter, circulated by the newly renamed California Technology Agency, department-level directors will have to personally certify IT products and services previously approved at lower levels. According to IT Policy Letter (ITPL) 11-01, Department Directors will have toRead… Read more »
Last week, Governor John Hickenlooper named Kristin Russel to the Secretary of Technology and Chief Information Officer spot. Russel will be joining the administration from Oracle where she currently works as Vice President of Global IT Service Operations at Oracle. Russel has been working in technology operations management for the last 15 years. Russel willRead… Read more »
In mid-July 2010, a firestorm of controversy came upon the town of Bell, California. A Los Angeles Times report found that Bell’s top officials – city manager, police chief, assistant city manager – were making two or three times the going rate for those positions elsewhere. The largely poor, largely Latino community had a cityRead… Read more »
In an announcement made earlier this week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled a revamped website for business owners and potential entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the Commonwealth. The governor said the new website is designed to be the one and only stop for interested businesses. Virginia Business One Stop combines the needed formsRead… Read more »
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton announced that the Chief Operating Officer for Information Technology Services for the Minnesota System of Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), Carolyn Parnell, will be the states new Chief Information Officer. In her capacity atop the Office of Enterprise Technology (OET), Ms. Parnell will guide the state’s IT strategy and manage internal andRead… Read more »
According to Steve Moddemeyer, a former senior advisor to Seattle Public Utilities and the city’s Department of Planning and Development, new paradigm shifts in government service delivery and infrastructure management are leading more officials to consider sustainable solutions. In a conversation with Mr. Moddemeyer, he told CivSource that governments can no longer afford to approachRead… Read more »
In an effort to move local government public engagement strategies from complaint-driven affairs to problem-solving sessions, the National League of Cities has produced an action guide to help elected officials create a framework for civility and democratic governance. The guide mentions strategies, from utilizing Web 2.0 technologies to promoting volunteerism as ways to allow citizensRead… Read more »
Intel, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Facebook are among the technology companies joining a new initiative from President Barack Obama to encourage entrepreneurship. The companies are part of a multi-sector pledge to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to high-growth industries of clean energy, medicine, advanced manufacturing, information technology and other fields. Dubbed the StartUP America Partnership,Read… Read more »
In an announcement made last week, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will provide $32 million in funding to accelerate health IT through Regional Extension Centers (RECs). ONC head Dr. David Blumenthal also announced additional money for health information exchanges and community college HIT programs. In a message posted on Dr.Read… Read more »