Miscellaneous

MBTA upgrades surveillance at subway stations

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has substantially increased the number of surveillance cameras at two stations on the Orange Line. Fifty-eight cameras were added at Forest Hills, which serves as the southern terminus of the subway line as well as a commuter rail station and major bus transfer point. Intrusion-detection systems were also added inRead… Read more »

Washington to add traffic cams to school buses

Washington State school officials are planning to install traffic cameras on school buses to catch drivers who pass the buses illegally. A new law authorizes school districts to install the cameras, which will automatically generate tickets for vehicles that pass school buses when students are boarding or alighting. The revenue from the $394 tickets isRead… Read more »

How to Make the Skunk Work With Open Data

To understand better how to develop open data competitions and to inform our own competition, we asked those of you that had hosted these already. We’ve had some thought provoking interviews from the shires and from the south west on hills and hearts. From one port to another as we move from Bristol to Amsterdam.Read… Read more »

More Emissions-Reduction Bang for Our Buck?

Everyone likes efficiency, it seems. An efficient economy, efficient government, and energy efficiency are just a few examples of popular “efficiencies” these days. But what about a more efficient way to operate under a Clean Energy Standard? Is there a way to increase (or at least not limit) clean energy growth under current standards? ResourcesRead… Read more »

GSA Asks What You Want in a Federal Web Site

On Monday the General Services Administration, on behalf of the White House, launched the National Dialogue on Improving Federal Web Sites. The purpose is to re-invent how the federal government delivers information and services online. The website created for the campaign asks citizens to share their ideas to help answer the question “What practices, policies,Read… Read more »

Phone Tips & Tricks: Work. There’s an app for that!

The Phone Tips & Tricks series is supported by the Sprint Federal Employee Discount Program. To find awesome discounts visit the Sprint Federal Employee Discount resource center today. These days we are seeing folks not only using Blackberries, but smartphones like Droids, iPhones, etc. for their work phones. There are tons of mobile applications availableRead… Read more »

Hacking the Shires

A couple of days ago we featured an interview with Bristol City Council on their B-Open Competition. From the South West we move to the Midlands where we ask one of the pioneers in local government of hack competitions, Warwickshire County Council. Check out our interview with Jim Morton, an Applications Architect there who blogsRead… Read more »

MBTA to test plug-in hybrid pickups

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is testing 10 plug-in hybrid electric pickup trucks as part of a national test with Chrysler. In return for the vehicles, the MBTA has agreed to drive the Ram trucks at least 1,500 miles per month and to share data with Chrysler for the next three years. A $48 millionRead… Read more »

Please Participate in Survey About Legislation.gov.uk

Please consider participating in a user survey respecting Legislation.gov.uk, the official, free online source for UK statutes. The survey is available on the main Legislation.gov.uk site — from the “Survey” tab on right screen — or directly here. The deadline for participating in the survey is 30 September 2011. According to Legislation.gov.uk‘s creator, John SheridanRead… Read more »

President Obama’s American Jobs Act

Congress is now sitting on President Obama’s American Jobs Act. It emphasizes infrastructure improvements and tax cuts. Given the politics, it will not move quickly. Congress just isn’t interested because it affects your life, not theirs. Read More … http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8689657/president_obamas_american_jobs_act.html?cat=3