In today’s Buzz: links, links, and more links!
This Buzz is brought to you by my need to make sure you have a wonderful start to your Cinco De Mayo!
What I’m Listening to – Geowulf
What I’m Reading – Start-Up City by Gabe Klein (a big thank you to Maria Ryan, City of Vancouver, WA for the birthday book!)
What I’m Watching – The Night Of
Buzzin’
- The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly approved a bill to repeal Obamacare: With Thursday’s 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democratic House members voted for the bill.
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North Korea Sanctions Would Get Tougher Under U.S. House Measure: The U.S. House passed legislation that would expand economic and human-rights sanctions against North Korea as President Donald Trump’s administration is pledging to consider all option to rein in leader Kim Jong Un’s nuclear arms ambitions.
- Uber faces criminal probe over software used to evade authorities: The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation into Uber Technologies Inc’s use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, two sources familiar with the situation said.
#Trending
- #ELGL17 in the Motor City
- Conference App: Download it here! (It’ll fifth nicely on your homepage)
- ELGL Board of Directors – Job Description
- #ELGL17: What’s Going On with Elizabeth Vogel, Clinton Township, MI
- Making Up Ground: Urban Design Elements Part 1
Upcoming Events
- #ELGL17 – May 11, 2017 – May 12, 2017
- Technology Efficiency Series: GIS Consortium Services – June 14, 2017 – 10:00am – 11:00am
50 Nifty
- Arizona lawmakers vote to strip gang-enforcement funding from Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office: A provision in the state Legislature’s criminal-justice budget bill strips $1.6 million in funding from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for gang enforcement, a move that critics called a partisan affront to new Democratic Sheriff Paul Penzone.
- How Louisville Embedded Performance Management Into City Departments: The City of Louisville, Kentucky’s performance management system, LouieStat, sets the bar for city government performance improvement. Mayor Greg Fischer united lessons from his business background with existing government stat models and unveiled LouieStat in 2012 to focus on two areas: planning and operations.
- Los Angeles, Microsoft Unveil Chip: New Chatbot Project Centered on Streamlining: Named Chip, for “City Hall Internet Personality,” a new chatbot unveiled at a New York Smart Cities conference answers nearly 300 questions a week on the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network website.
- City Workers Learn How to Save San Diego Money: The city is launching a new academy to teach its workers how to slice costs and streamline operations while reducing the need for layoffs or cuts to essential services, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The launch comes at a critical time, because rising pension costs may mean a leaner city budget going forward.
- $1.5 Billion Development Planned for Cincinnati Exurb: Developers have announced plans for a $1.5 billion, multi-phase development to be located in Turtlecreek Township, in Warren County, Ohio.
- Counties and cities explore needle exchanges to mitigate diseases spread through drug use: As the opioid crisis continues to affect communities across the nation, some local governments are fighting the diseases spread through intravenous drug use through needle exchange programs. Bonus read: Using GIS to map addiction.
- Chicago Is Making a Case for a Tax on Plastic Bags: Often, consumers’ choices are shaped around “loss aversion,” which holds that people experience a loss more sharply than they do a gain. In Chicago, this could translate to a pretty significant reduction in the use of disposable plastic bags, according to a new study led by Professor Tatiana A. Homonoff of New York University. Bonus Read: The Study.
Local Government Confidential
- Age discrimination complaint against sheriff allowed to continue: An Orange County deputy who sued the department alleging age discrimination, only to have his case closed via summary judgment, will have another chance at a day in court.
- Richard Florida on: The New Suburban Crisis and Tech’s Contribution to The New Urban Crisis (there may be a theme here…)
- Three Los Angeles City Firefighters Top State Employee Salary List, Earning Combined $1.4 Million: Three Los Angeles city firefighters have reached salary levels that rival the U.S. president, and it’s not the first time some of them have appeared on lists of top government employee salary earners, according to data from a nonprofit watchdog group.
