Connecticut

The Connecticut National Guard is using helicopters with buckets filled from a nearby lake to fight a massive brush fire that left a firefighter dead following a rollover crash involving a utility vehicle.

Some states are pulling back the curtain on their use of artificial intelligence in government, creating public inventories showing which agencies use AI, the types of systems and their potential impact on citizens.

Chief Information Officer Mark Raymond is on a mission to convince decision-makers that technology doesn’t just cost money — it provides value. “It’s how we improve in government at all.”

During a public hearing before his approval, Raheem L. Mullins predicted a future in which jurors have notebook computers and all courthouses have Wi-Fi that visitors access through handheld devices.

The university's Depot Campus is working with Promesa Capital LLC on a facility that car or startup companies could rent out for research, testing and developing autonomous vehicle technologies.

After initially saying the state's guidance for school cellphone policies gives “short shrift” to students with disabilities, advocates then read the actual policy and said it goes a long way toward addressing their concerns.

State officials have plucked Gene Meltser from the private sector to serve as state chief information security officer. The C-suite arrival will leverage his cybersecurity experience to mitigate risk for the government and its constituents.

Over the past decade, fears around school shootings have driven a push for surveillance cameras, panic buttons, emergency alert systems and other technology, in some cases forcing hard choices for tight budgets.

If all goes as planned, newcomers will have an interactive way to get to know the town starting in October, after the town government collaborated with others on an illustrated map of downtown.

Several school districts this fall will offer high school students a regional remote learning option aimed at giving them some flexibility in what courses they take, as well as when and how they take them.

Student cellphone use is a hot topic of conversation across the state, and the state Board of Education has adopted guidance urging districts to develop policies to restrict student phone use.

Researchers are working to eliminate the unknowns related to schools banning phones, trying to forge a clearer understanding of the advantages and limitations of those policies.

Starting this fall, Western Connecticut State University in Danbury will begin offering a master of science degree in artificial intelligence, with in-person classes focused on mathematics and computer science.

Gov. Ned Lamont and state officials are warning Connecticut consumers about a surge in credit, debit and EBT card theft targeting residents at the gas pump, the ATM and the grocery line.

Gov. Ned Lamont said he intends to encourage local superintendents across Connecticut to pass and enforce policies restricting student use of smartphones during instructional time.

Officials say federal investigators closed a criminal investigation into allegations that state police troopers potentially falsified data for thousands of traffic tickets, but seven officers may face discipline.

Digital Equity Program Manager Lauren Thompson on building a people-centered program, maximizing federal funding and making sure residents have the tools they need to get online in Connecticut.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal urged customers to seek credit monitoring the company is providing. Data from 560 million customer accounts may have been exposed in the May incident.