Providence Technology Group

After years of missed deadlines and documented safety issues surrounding the rollout of California’s Next Generation 911 system, project insiders are now speaking out, saying they feel compelled to warn the public about “major problems” with the years-long overhaul that has cost Californians nearly a half-billion dollars and counting. Keep Reading This Article at NBC Bay Area

Fresh waves of layoffs are poised to eliminate the jobs of several hundred tech workers in the Bay Area, a disquieting series of setbacks that suggest the wobbly sector’s staffing reductions have yet to run their course. The current cutbacks for the Bay Area tech industry are slated to eliminate more than 400 jobs, according to this news organization’s compilation of official WARN letters that several companies have sent to the state’s labor agency. Amazon, Dropbox, GoPro, Article and Visa are the most recent companies to slash tech jobs in the Bay Area, WARN letters on file with the California Employment Development Department show. Keep Reading This Article at MSN.com

Climate change is making farm work more difficult and dangerous. But workers worry technology could lead to further exploitation. Jeremy Ford hates wasting water. As a mist of rain sprinkled the fields around him in Homestead, Florida, Ford bemoaned how expensive it had been running a fossil fuel-powered irrigation system on his 5-acre farm — and how bad it was for the planet. Earlier this month, Ford installed an automated underground system that uses a solar-powered pump to periodically saturate the roots of his crops, saving “thousands of gallons of water,” he estimated. Although they may be more costly up-front, he sees such climate-friendly investments as a necessary expense — and more affordable than expanding his workforce of two. It’s “much more efficient,” said Ford. “We’ve tried ...[Read More]

Adventist Health Rideout shares dramatic ‘door-in-door-out’ data since implementing tool called Viz.ai UC Davis Health partner hospital Adventist Health and Rideout (AHRO) has dramatically cut the time it takes to transfer stroke patients to specialty care thanks to a new artificial intelligence tool. The Marysville, California hospital launched the new tool, called Viz.ai in May. As a result, AHRO’s stroke program reduced what’s known as door-in-door-out time from an average of 202 minutes in 2023 to 109 minutes now.Door-in-door-out time measures how long it takes for a patient to be transferred from one hospital to another for specialty care. It is an important metric, as stroke care is time sensitive. Keep Reading This Article at UC Davis Health

When the current class of college seniors started their studies four years ago, tech companies were hiring new graduates as fast as they could. Now, amid a downturn in Silicon Valley that has included thousands of layoffs, job seekers who are about to get their diplomas are scrambling to find work. The signs of trouble are easy to spot at University of California at Berkeley, usually a hotbed for tech recruiting. Keep Reading This Article at MSN.com

On September 28, California became the second US state to officially recognize the importance of mental privacy in state law. That pink, jelly-like, throbbing mass under your skull—a.k.a. your brain—contains all your thoughts, memories, and ideas. It controls your feelings and actions. Measuring brain activity can reveal a lot about a person—and that’s why neural data needs to be protected. Regular Checkup readers will be familiar with some of the burgeoning uses of “mind-reading” technologies. We can track brain activity with all sorts of devices, some of which measure brain waves while others track electrical activity or blood flow. Scientists have been able to translate this data into signals to help paralyzed people move their limbs or even communicate by thought alone.   Keep Rea...[Read More]

In a new study, researchers at UC Davis Children’s Hospital have shown that virtual family-centered rounds are a valuable resource for families with children in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The study was published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health. It showed that minority families, and those without college educations, particularly benefited. Overall, the virtual option increased attendance and gave families enhanced opportunities to support their child’s care. Family-centered rounds are designed to improve communication and patient care. Families join the regular morning medical rounds, which generally include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and other medical team members. They learn about their child’s condition and care and ask questions....[Read More]

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2426, a new law that requires digital marketplaces to make clearer to customers when they are only purchasing a license to access media. The law will not apply to cases of permanent offline downloads, only to the all-too-common situation of buying digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows or ebooks from an online storefront. The Verge spotted the development, which could see marketplaces facing fines for false advertising in the state if they don’t use clear language to explain the limitations of what access entails. In other words, you won’t be seeing language like “buy” or “purchase” once the law takes effect in 2025. Keep Reading This Article at Engadget  

Apple launched California identity cards and driver’s licenses for iPhones today (09/19/2024), making the digital IDs easier to present — but for now they are only accepted at select airports and a small number of businesses selling age-restricted items such as alcohol, tobacco, fireworks, or guns. Drivers are still legally required to carry their physical licenses, even if they get a digital one. And they cannot use digital licenses at offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles, which issues them, since the agency only accepts them online, through an app. In the near future, however, use of digital IDs are expected to spread both in government and the private sector, with sales terminals rolling out to enable more stores to accept them, more California state agencies accepting them, and ...[Read More]

California’s legacy is defined in part by its pioneering spirit. Now, the state is again aiming to strengthen progress as we look to improve healthcare in California with the Data Exchange Framework (DxF). The vision of the DxF is simple yet significant: Every Californian, no matter where they live, should be able to walk into a doctor’s office, a county social services agency or an emergency room and be assured that their providers can access the information needed to provide safe, effective, whole-person care. The law, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and went into effect Jan. 31, marked the start of statewide, secure exchange of health and social services information. The DxF is a first-ever mandate to integrate our state’s health and social services information exchange to better ...[Read More]

AFLOAT THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER — Grant Jeide looked like another dude riding the rollicking waves left in the wake of a 23-foot (7-meter) boat ripping through the water at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on a river in Northern California’s Delta earlier this summer. But Jeide was performing his aquatic acrobatics behind a different breed of boat — one powered by electricity instead of gasoline. Unencumbered by the din and acrid smell of a combustion engine, the boat’s passengers could chat with Jeide as he surfed behind them while they savored the afternoon breeze wafting along the river. “It’s like a playground back there, you feel like you could just ride all day,” exclaimed Jeide, part of the sales team at Arc Boats, a 3-year-old startup embarking on a voyage to electr...[Read More]

Need to find your lost bag? Trying to locate your neighborhood mail thief? Apple’s AirTag can help you with both. Released in 2021, the $29 Apple AirTag was created to help users easily locate items through a Bluetooth signal. Some people are even using it to find their stolen property. In a recent case, a woman in Santa Barbara County who was fed up with her mail being stolen from her post office box decided to bait the thieves and mailed herself a package containing an AirTag. Keep Reading This Article at the Officer.com