Providence Technology Group

As California’s capital city, Sacramento wants to set an example for the state by transitioning its fleet to electric vehicles. Governments need to act now to meet ambitious goals to stop climate change. In my role overseeing the purchase and maintenance of all of Sacramento’s vehicles, I’ve learned that these goals alone are not enough. To actually achieve your goals, you need to do several important things. First, you need to change the culture in your organization to one that embraces this move to energy efficiency. That means getting your bosses and your customers — the people driving the vehicles — to buy in. This culture change is critical to making sure leaders establish policies that mandate cleaner and greener vehicles, and that employees are empowered to spark change from below b...[Read More]

As state governments continue to acclimate themselves to changes made permanent by nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, their chief information officers’ priorities heading into 2022 remained largely unchanged. The new annual list of top IT priorities issued by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers shows that state technology leaders are most focused on cybersecurity, digital services, broadband development and cloud-based services. Cybersecurity topped the agenda for the ninth year running, as NASCIO members continue to spend much of their time implementing enterprise policies, assessing systemic risks, developing training and fending off incidents like ransomware attacks. Keep reading this article at statescoop.com.

Sac State Scholars is the University’s new online system for discovering and highlighting faculty research and creative activity, as well as the storehouse for graduate theses and doctoral dissertations. The site, which is managed by University Library, is a valuable resource for the campus community, said Yinfa Ma, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “The information will help in building teams of campus experts to secure more research funding. It ultimately will provide opportunities for students to work with faculty, which will enhance the students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and it will boost faculty’s scholarly activity output. “Also,” Ma said, “it is a great platform to showcase our faculty’s work to the world.” The world already has ...[Read More]

While she’s in between accounting jobs, Leslie Fong is working to enhance her Excel skills through advanced online classes at the South San Francisco library. “They are stellar,” she said about the library. “I’ve never gone to a place with so many free offerings of classes. They are my salvation.” Libraries have long helped job hunters as part of their mission as community hubs linking people to essential services and resources. Now the state’s libraries are adding a broad array of free software to help patrons learn new vocational and academic skills, earn professional certificates and prepare for in-demand jobs. It comes at a crucial time as workers returning from pandemic layoffs seek new positions, 1.4 million Californians are unemployed, and 4.8 million are “functionally unemployed,” ...[Read More]

The new SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC) opened its doors to the public on Nov. 14. MOSAC incorporates the structure of a former power plant built in 1912 and offers more than 100 exhibits on topics ranging from space exploration to healthcare innovations. The museum expects to host more than 250,000 visitors annually, including students on field trips from area schools and tourists adding the new destination to their itinerary. “Kids’ dreams do come true, but only if we provide our kids every chance to explore, to study, to work, and to dream, and that is why we are here today,” said Mayor Steinberg. “The SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity will turn dreams into possibilities, possibilities into real change, saving and helping lives.” The museum almost didn’t happen. In 2017,...[Read More]

At least six California community college districts suspect they have given out financial aid to fake students who have enrolled at their colleges this year. At a minimum, the breaches represent a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers seeking financial aid from California’s community colleges. It’s possible that much more money was delivered to fake students, given that the system’s 115 traditional colleges, enrolling about 1.8 million students, are in the midst of distributing more than $1.6 billion in federal Covid relief aid. Keep reading this article at edsource.org.

Helbiz Inc. (NASDAQ: HLBZ), a global leader in micro-mobility and the first in its industry to be publicly listed on Nasdaq, today announced that it will deploy a fleet of 250 safe and innovative e-scooters in Sacramento, California after securing a one year permit. “We’re excited to bring our sustainable e-scooters to the state capitol of California” “We’re excited to bring our sustainable e-scooters to the state capitol of California,” said Gian Luca Spriano, Director of International Business Development at Helbiz. “This follows our recent deployment in Santa Barbara County and underscores our continued expansion efforts throughout the state of California and the United States as a whole. We look forward to working closely with the city of Sacramento to provide the community with ...[Read More]

Two of California’s top technology officials said Tuesday that a new, five-year cybersecurity “road map” will put the state government on track to a more consistent approach to securing its IT assets and critical infrastructure, including aligning cybersecurity more closely with homeland security. The “Cal-Secure” plan, which Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday, aims to expand and improve security technologies and controls, conduct broader oversight and compliance operations and fill job vacancies across a statewide enterprise with more than 150 agencies and a highly federated IT governance structure. The plan is also an extension of “Vision 2020,” an IT agenda the state implemented in 2017. While the Cal-Secure framework has been in the works for some time, its goals were greatly influence...[Read More]

For the 6th consecutive year, The City of Roseville in 2021 was selected as a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Information Technology Practices from the Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC). Even with a significantly higher bar set this year in order to be awarded the coveted MISAC Excellence in IT award, thirteen MISAC member agencies received Excellence awards this year. Keep reading this article at Rosevilletoday.com.

Multinational esports organisation Gen.G has announced a partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). As part of the deal, the two entities will join forces this fall to host the Colts Generational Gaming Academy at Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School in Elk Grove, Californi The 20-week after-school programme, which launches on October 4th, will feature 100 students interested in gaming engaging daily with STEM, sustainability, and innovation. Keep reading this article at esportsinsider.com.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As millions of acres smolder and smoke billows across America, Vibrant Planet today launched its first application – called Land Tender – which catapults the country’s decades-old, paper-based land management system into the Cloud and provides land managers with the integrated, dynamic, high-resolution data and modeling they need to make more agile and informed decisions. With this new tool, land managers can plan, prioritize, and execute fire prevention and forest health projects in months rather than years, including thinning hazardous timber, clearing fuels from roadsides, and conducting prescribed burns. Keep Reading this article at tahoedailytribune.com.

Alarmed by more than a year of dysfunction and fraud in California’s unemployment benefits system, state lawmakers have sent the governor a raft of bills aimed at fixing the agency that stumbled in helping those left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.Legislation approved by lawmakers Thursday would require the state Employment Development Department to enact far-reaching changes recommended by a pair of state audits that found the agency was unprepared for the joblessness caused when many of the state’s businesses were shut down during the health crisis.Keep reading this article at msn.com.