The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) will partner with Angelo State University (ASU) to operate the pilot Regional Security Operations Center (RSOC) to provide local governments in Texas with cybersecurity. RSOC, which was created with the passing of SB 475 in the 87th Legislative Session, will provide “boots on the ground” support to local […]
Colorado – The U.S. Forest Service will commit $131 million in initial funding to prescribe wildfire risk reduction treatments for 10 landscapes comprising 208,000 acres in western states. Since releasing its 10-year wildfire strategy earlier this year, the Forest Service and its partners have worked to identify the highest risk landscapes for treatment projects. The Forest […]
City staff updated El Paso councilmembers on January 18 on the progress of several public safety capital projects that were part of the successful $413 million bond election in 2019. According to the city’s procurement forecast, it will schedule design-build solicitations for summer 2022 to build a $90.6 million police department headquarters and a $29.6 […]
Although Texas ranked in the middle of the pack among states victimized for cybercrime in 2020, the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area was among the metropolises reporting the most cyber identity thefts in the nation, according to a recent study. Beyond Identity assessed the last decade of cybercrime for its study that found 724 reports of […]
Sherman Planning and Zoning commissioners approved plans and variances on July 20 to move the city’s $17.62 million project to build a new police headquarters one step closer to construction. The proposed site is at 2600 West Travis Street at the southwest corner of Travis Street and Northgate Drive in the Blalock Industrial Park and […]
Florida – The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) released a request for information (RFI) for input on the latest technology for Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management Systems (RMS). FLHSMV is seeking information from vendors regarding available solutions designed and suitable to replace its current CAD/RMS. This RFI is designed to […]
Laredo City Council approved a design contract for $14 million in improvements to the Laredo International Airport on June 15. The airport’s Terminal Improvements Program includes an addition to the north of the existing building to include a new security checkpoint, consolidated secure exit, and the associated infrastructure impacts incurred by expanding the building. At […]
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner launched Resilient Houston on February 12, a plan to help the city mitigate flooding risks and improve climate readiness. Resilient Houston is a framework for collective action and links existing efforts with new ones that will work collectively to protect Houston against future disasters and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, […]
California – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the state of California approved statewide public testing of the California Early Earthquake Warning System. The system is powered by the USGS’s early warning alerts, called ShakeAlerts. These alerts will be delivered via the federal Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, as well as through the University of California […]
California – The State of California Department of Technology issued a request for information (RFI) for Owner Occupied Reconstruction (OOR) to assist the state’s Department Housing and Community Development (HCD) in developing a new federally funded program named ReCoverCA. Using the OOR process on www.RecoverCA.org, the department plans to provide federal disaster funds to assist homeowners […]
New York – Officials at the New York Department of Design and Construction (DDC) are undertaking an $8.7 billion effort to construct four city jails in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx that would allow for the closure of its Rikers Island Jail Complex. DDC recently awarded a contract for program and project management to a joint […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $20 million to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for providing safety, support and security to areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. More than 1,800 DPS employees including state troopers and criminal investigators as well as communication and aviation operators were deployed to areas affected […]
Virginia– After three years of research, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in partnership with the city of Norfolk, has reached a milestone in the Coastal Storm Risk Management study. The project moves onto the next phase with the approval and signature of Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, chief of engineers and commanding general […]
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 […]
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