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From around the country, more articles on the escalating backlash against the Patriot Act as exemplified by defiant libraries and local governments. In Washington State, Libraries routinely toss data on patrons’. From New York State, Libraries, government at odds over Patriot Act, and from California, Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act.
According to this article in PC World, “the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is currently considering a regulation that would let it ignore any public comments on its rule-making process sent to it through Web-based forms.” The agency also intends to ignore comments sent using form letters and postcards that result from lobbying/advocacy efforts. …
From the Washington Post: “An “e-government” program to make the federal government more citizen-friendly is $40 million short of its intended budget, which could hurt White House efforts to improve public access to regulations, information and services.” See also this interview with Mark Forman, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s associate director of information …
Via Slashdot, this WTOP Radio Network (Washington, D.C.) report indicates that the USPTO has at a minimum a two year backlog for approval of a new patent. Patent Office Director James E. Rogan went on record to Congress warning that this backlog could rise to over one million requests by 2008. Kevin W. Grierson comments: …
On April 15, the Social Security Administration launched a redesigned website, Social Security Online, along with a new url. See the press release here, as well as the helpful fact sheet that details the new features and services available from the site, which now meets accessibility requirements. Please note that the agency continues to provide …
The Department of Homeland Security has hired a Chief Privacy Officer, attorney Nuala O’Connor Kelly. According to this government bio, she was formerly Chief Counsel for the Dept. of Commerce Technology Administration, and prior to that, she served as Vice President-Data Protection and Chief Privacy Officer for Emerging Technologies of the online media services company, …
According to Federal Computer Week, the Dudley Knox Library of the Naval Postgraduate School, at the request of the DOJ, will create and implement a digital library of resources on homeland security issues to be made available to “students at the school, employees of the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, and likely other federal …
Pursuant to the E-Government Act of 2002, this announcement from the White House this afternoon: “The Office of Electronic Government was officially launched today, signaling a permanent commitment to the President’s E-Government initiatives. Mark Forman, Administrator for E-Government and Information Technology, who is heading the new office, is leading a live on-line discussion on the …
The White House has launched Ask the White House, “a live online interactive forum where you can communicate with White House and administration officials.” The forum is for one hour, 7pm – 7:30pm (ET), and questions may be submitted in advance. Guests are announced on the website.
As a follow-up to my April 10 posting on troubles with UK e-gov sites, there is more bad news in that department. The Register reported a new survey indicates that in addition to accessibility problems, the government sites were rife with errors, at the rate of seven times that of “the UK’s leading 100 companies.” …
The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office “allows residents to view, free of charge, basic information about properties in Santa Clara County such as assessed value, assessor’s parcel number (APN), document number, property address and other information.” Here is a link to the Property Assessment Information System. Please note the following disclaimer: “California Government Code 6254.21 …
Tennessee launched a new url and website to facilitate easier and expanded access to the state’s many e-gov services. Users may now locate information through the following categories: About TN, Government (Departments and Agencies, including legislative bill search), Employment, Travel, Residents, Education, Business, Laws & Justice, State News, Online Services (permits, licenses, etc.). The site …
