“The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, displayed as 10-degree F zones and 5-degree F half zones. A broadband internet connection is recommended… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: E-Government
Virtual Cloud Portals
Dark Clouds: Can Government Agencies Evade Public-Records Laws by Storing Documents in Privately Owned Digital Portals? Frank D. LoMonte, Adjunct Instructor, University of Georgia School of Law. Newsroom Legal Counsel, Cable News Network, Inc. J.D., University of Georgia School of Law, 2000. B.A., Georgia State University, 1992. “Laws enabling the public to inspect government records… Continue Reading
Generative AI and libraries: 7 contexts
LorcanDempsey.net: “Libraries are engaging with AI in their educational, service and policy work. This post discusses seven contexts in which that work is taking place. This is the third of four posts on Generative AI: Generative AI and large language models: background and contexts Generative AI, scholarly and cultural language models, and the return of… Continue Reading
Wastewater surveillance for COVID
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH Ph.D an epidemiologist: “…It’s not an understatement to say that wastewater surveillance has transformed public health. (See my previous post on its pros and cons.) It picked up a SARS-CoV-2 wave before any other metric. We are now using it for flu, RSV, and even opioids. The potential is endless. Over… Continue Reading
IRS advances innovative Direct File project for 2024 tax season
IRS -“As part of larger transformation efforts underway, the Internal Revenue Service announced today key details about the Direct File pilot for the 2024 filing season with several states planning to join the innovative effort. The IRS will conduct a limited-scope pilot during the 2024 tax season to further assess customer support and technology needs.… Continue Reading
Climate Change and Human Health Glossary
NIH Climate Change and Human Health Glossary – “A glossary of terms used to describe the science of climate change and its impacts on human health. The goal of this glossary is to help standardize language, enable data harmonization, and encourage clear communication on climate change and health among scientists, health care providers, policymakers, advocates,… Continue Reading
FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 202
Test Messages Will be Sent to All TVs, Radios and Cell Phones – “FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this fall. The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin… Continue Reading
NASA Publishes Beta Flagship, Science Websites as Improvements Continue
“NASA has switched its primary World Wide Web addresses to a beta version of the new NASA.gov and science.nasa.gov websites, continuing the long-term development and consolidation of its public web presence. The new sites will offer visitors an improved, intuitive web design and elevated user experience. The ongoing work on the agency’s upgraded website is… Continue Reading
CISA Toolkit Encouraging Americans to Keep Themselves and Families Safe Online
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today announced the launch of “Secure Our World,” a nationwide cybersecurity public awareness campaign to educate all Americans on how to stay safe online. The campaign includes a public service announcement (PSA) that will air on stations around the country, as well as digital content, a toolkit, and… Continue Reading
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
Council on Environmental Quality: “Explore the map – Census tracts that are overburdened and underserved are highlighted as being disadvantaged on the map. Federally Recognized Tribes, including Alaska Native Villages, are also considered disadvantaged communities. Zooming in and selecting shows information about each census tract.” Search for an address, city, state or zipcode. Continue Reading
CDC punts on COVID 19 Public Health Data
CDC archives and ends the site Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 [why as the virus and deaths continue?] – and replaces it with this: “Welcome to CDC WONDER — Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research — an easy-to-use, menu-driven system that makes the information resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) available… Continue Reading
USPTO new cloud-based trademark search system with basic and advanced search options
“As we recently noted, we are improving our search tools frequently used by patent and trademark filers and web visitors to provide a more multi-faceted, reliable search experience. To that end, we are excited to announce the launch of the beta version of our new trademark search system. This new, cloud-based search system will replace… Continue Reading
