Civic Tech

More than 100 people crowded into the third floor of a downtown San Francisco office building Saturday morning to seek ways to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to tackle daunting social problems.

A partnership between the Zumbro Valley Medical Society and the PathCheck Foundation, an open source nonprofit, aims to create a digital platform to boost care coordination for people experiencing homelessness.

The San Francisco-based company will partner with autonomous driving tech firm May Mobility next year to field a fleet of Toyota Sienna minivans that will be accessible through its app. Precise details and timing are not yet clear, but initial deployments will use human “safety operators,” transitioning over time to fully autonomous operations.

The City Council is expected to consider a $1.58 million master services agreement for in-car and body-worn cameras for city police, plus other equipment. The newest such cameras are more than three years old.

The Washington, D.C., nonprofit has introduced an Innovation and Incubation Fellowship to drive technology work that enhances accessibility and equity in government services. Its first fellow hails from the U.S. Digital Service.

The sheriff’s department continues to promote the app, which actually debuted last year, as “an innovative way for us to connect with residents, businesses and visitors.” Through it, people can report crimes, and the sheriff’s office can send alerts.

The shift is designed to let the city offer more details about its 2025 budget, the subject of a public hearing Nov. 11. This is the first year Eau Claire has used the new budgeting software and, following state statute, it offers a print version as well.

After a delay, Linn-Benton Community College will roll out its new electric vehicle program in 2025. The program is designed to recruit women to the field, but had difficulty attracting qualified instructors. It is aimed at filling a training gap for EV technicians.

Next-generation 911 with the resilience of a modern, digital, Internet protocol-based network was essential to North Carolina’s storm response. It enabled officials to answer nearly 90,000 emergency calls in three days.

The concept of a “smart city” or “connected community” has been around for decades, but experts argue the meaning of the term, and the expectations around it, have changed in recent years. Residential input remains vital, city leaders explain.

The facilities are definitely a popular trend in metropolitan Denver, potentially moreso than statewide. A tax exemption program could make the state as a whole more attractive, one observer said.

Libraries taking part in a Digital Equity Pilot Project will bring on digital helpers to give residents free tech assistance and build online skills. A $250,000 national leadership grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services underpins the effort.

The City Council is examining how the city’s famous views are being preserved. A recent study session on design and development standards included a proposal to use new software to examine how views would be impacted by proposed development.

The City Council has approved buying software and equipment to underpin an online portal capable of tracking water use daily or hourly. It could help residents who use it spot leaks and call out emergencies.

A City Council committee will consider next week a new contract with the company that provides the gunshot-detecting tech. Chicago and Seattle have moved away from it, and Houston's mayor has indicated he wants the city to drop it.

Students at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., started the nonprofit 404 Found Code to teach younger children concepts of coding. Now they have funding and gifts from tech companies and plan to expand.

Agencies in Southern Maine have tried using software with artificial intelligence to draft police reports. Officers who have tried it have said it produces an accurate summary, but observers are worried it may impact narratives and fairness.

How Iowa was able to navigate the red tape involved with real-time child-care search, vacancy and supply and demand dashboards to help parents quickly find available child care in the state.