The city of Houston is seeking public feedback through March 5 on whether to approve a new ordinance that would require structures within the 100 or 500-year floodplains to be built 2 feet above the 500-year floodplain. Currently, only developments located within the 100-year floodplain are required to be built one foot above the 100-year […]
The National Hurricane Center sent out a message this week advising people along the Texas coast to monitor a tropical storm that died on Monday in the central Caribbean, but has gained strength and is predicted to make landfall in the middle of the Texas coast as a Category 3 hurricane sometime this evening or […]
May 27 was the anniversary of an uninvited F5 tornado that forced its fury on the town of Jarrell 20 years ago. Rebuilding, renovating and refurbishing structures, bridges and roadways has provided a view of normalcy for those who pass through town on Interstate 35. For those living in Jarrell, the town has been renewed, […]
Since president-elect Donald Trump promised to end federal funding to sanctuary cities many city and county leaders around the country have been wondering what that might mean for them. The term sanctuary city doesn’t have a legal definition. Jurisdictions that consider themselves sanctuary cities generally have policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The […]
The fate of children in the care of Child Protective Services (CPS) was hotly debated this week. The Texas Senate Finance Committee met on Wednesday to discuss a CPS reform plan after a recent Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) report revealed nearly 1,000 children were not checked on over the course of six months […]
The Houston Bike Plan’s vision of the city’s network of trails and paths includes a broad range of types of pathways. The goal of 1,789 miles of bike paths would comprise 816 miles of dedicated on-street bike lanes, 668 miles of off-street bike paths or trails and another 305 miles of shared on-street pathways.
FirstNet in January issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a partner to build a nationwide public safety broadband network. The goal of the project is to create a dedicated communications network to be used by the nation’s emergency response personnel without interference from the public’s communications.
On the heels of an unusually wet, cold and long winter comes a welcomed prediction about the upcoming 2015 hurricane season. A pair of expert hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU) has released their prediction for the upcoming 2015 season, which runs from June 1 through November 30. This is the 32nd year that […]
Jail populations have more than tripled since the 1980s. Unfortunately, so have the costs related to building and managing jails. Local governments throughout the country spend about $22.2 billion per year on correctional institutions. The approximately 12 million admissions to jails throughout the country each year are almost 20 times the number of admissions to […]
Border safety is among the hottest, most controversial issues of our time. Politicians and elected officials cannot agree on what to do, so there is no consistency and almost no collaboration in current efforts to protect and secure United States borders. A solution has been elusive and there is definitely a lack of collaboration on […]
“There’s more technology in your purse than put a man on the moon.” The power of that same technology in the phone in your pocket or purse will soon transform 9-1-1 emergency systems statewide into a technology-laden interoperable system with the same whistles and bells, according to Kelli Merriweather (pictured), executive director of the Commission […]
The Texas Joint Crime Information Center (JCIC) of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) was recently named the Fusion Center of the Year by the National Fusion Center Association. The award was accepted in Alexandria, Virginia, by John “J.J.” Jones, assistant director, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism at DPS. The award honors centers that have […]
Every week, the Government Contracting Pipeline highlights a few, notable public sector contracting opportunities from around the country. Here are the opportunities from the October 15, 2014 edition of the newsletter: Variety of projects funded in Native American communities nationwide Grants that will address housing needs and totaling $60 million have been awarded by the […]
Texting has become so common that people no longer think about not having cellular communication. Texting is almost always possible – except when it isn’t. Throughout most of the United States, it’s not possible to text 9-1-1 in an emergency. Cellular coverage for emergency calls to 9-1-1 is not yet available in most places. Black […]
A veteran of nearly two decades of employment with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has been fired over allegedly sharing information with a vendor regarding negotiations over a multi-million-dollar data contract with the state. Leah Rayne, business technology architect for HHSC for the last two years, was terminated from her position on […]
Big Data – it’s one of the hottest buzzwords of the decade – but what does it mean? For some, it congers up frightening scenarios related to a loss of privacy. For others it is a way to incorporate huge amounts of data into processes that allow for mining, categorizing, storing and accessing information. Some […]
With all eyes, including those of the Department of Justice, on Ferguson, Missouri, as protests continue over the shooting death by a police officer of an 18-year-old, there is intense interest in transparency as it applies to first responders – and particularly law enforcement. The concept of wearable cameras which monitor an officer’s surroundings and […]
Police departments across the country are implementing body worn camera (BMC) technology to record police interactions with the public. The camera systems, which are currently being used at approximately 1,000 police departments, are used to collect evidence and may also reduce officers’ use of force as well as citizen complaints.
Soon, every American will likely have strong feelings one way or another about the use of drones. The use of unmanned aircraft, or drones, is an issue crying out for clarification. Some argue that the use of drones offers significant benefit to the world. For instance, drones can quickly and efficiently provide online access to […]
Unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones, are becoming more common in spite of the fact that they are highly controversial. The topic of drones falls squarely into the “Hot Topics” category in the United States. A drone is an aircraft either controlled from the ground or from a computer that has been pre-programmed. One type […]
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