It took 140 days to decide how much funding and flexibility two-and-four-year educational institutions would receive. Higher education had a chilly reception at the beginning of the 85th Legislative Session when three bills were proposed that would have frozen all tuition and fees until 2022, repealed the tuition set-aside program and required schools to reach […]
The media has focused primarily on cyberattacks related to election systems lately. Many individuals, public officials and company executives, however, have been just as worried about ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks infect computer networks with a virus that totally shuts down a computer or a network. It prevents access and demands payment to release and restore […]
While the $1 trillion Trump Infrastructure Plan was being touted last week by the president and transportation officials, those of us at the annual meeting for the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI) in New York were giving considerable attention to one particular aspect of that plan – “asset recycling.” Often misstated, misinterpreted […]
Snohomish County in the state of Washington is about to be the second county in the United States to become designated a Smart County. Durham County, in North Carolina, was the first. Municipal leaders cornered the market on being recognized as they launched initiatives to combine data, communication and information technology for the benefit of […]
An abundance of rail safety projects are about to be launched. That’s because commuter and intercity passenger railroads must meet a federally mandated December 2018 deadline to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) systems. And, it’s also because the federal government just awarded millions to help transit agencies throughout the U.S. meet that deadline. Additionally, cybersecurity […]
High-speed trains, carrying both freight and passengers, now speed along at up to 200 miles per hour in China. Computer-operated electric pod cars travel on tracks at West Virginia University, carrying up to 20 passengers at a time across campus. Singapore claims to be the first country to play host to a full self-driving taxi […]
Hand-wringing and soul-searching are an integral part of budget decisions being made by government officials. Across the U.S., 31 states faced budget shortfalls at the beginning of 2017. Legislators in Texas last weekend sent a budget bill to the governor that includes a $1 billion withdrawal from the rainy day fund and an accounting scheme […]