May, 2024

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SCP 205: After Hours Activity Ideas for Camp

Summer Camp Programming

SHOW NOTES Curt and Chris explore engaging activities at camp after the sun sets. They share personal stories, offer practical tips for implementing classic nighttime activities like kitchen raids, night swims, and campfire cooking, and offer some more innovative and memorable ideas. HOSTS CURT JACKSON CHRIS KALLAL The post SCP 205: After Hours Activity Ideas for Camp first appeared on Summer Camp Programming.

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How South Korea’s Tech Hub Embraced the 15-Minute City

Next City

Busan’s mayor is taking a collaborative approach to championing “happy proximity,” turning his city into a living laboratory for urban regeneration.

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Why so many bad bosses still rise to the top

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Narcissism. Overconfidence. Low EQ. Why do we persist in selecting for leadership traits that hamper organizational progress—and leave the right potential leaders in the wrong roles?

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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day

NLC (National League of Cities)

By: Sigvanna Tapqaq, Nome, AK, Common Council Member Leadership Circle Member/ NLC Local Indigenous Leaders (LIL) Introduction May 5th is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIW) Day, most widely celebrated across the U.S. and Canada.

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The Ultimate Playground Inspection Handbook

Dive into the world of playground safety with this complimentary guide. It offers a detailed exploration of essential practices to ensure the utmost safety for children. Delve into inspection techniques, from assessing equipment conditions to evaluating surfacing materials. Gain insights into maintenance strategies to keep playgrounds in top-notch condition year-round.

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Federal broadband subsidy cut amid fears over its future

GCN

The Affordable Connectivity Program will pay some households just $14 in May, down from $30. Unless Congress acts on a $7 billion extension bill, it will run out of money at the end of the month, plunging some families, supporters warn, into “digital darkness.

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Local Governments Are Developing Early AI Use Cases, CIOs Say

State Tech Magazine

Local government CIOs agreed that artificial intelligence has great potential for staff augmentation but noted that they are only in the early stages of testing AI use cases. Speaking Thursday at the Public Technology Institute’s 2024 AI and Cyber Summit in Washington, D.C., Scott Varner, director of IT and management information systems for Frederick County, Va., asked, “Wouldn’t you love to be doing the real work instead of all of the executive summaries?

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May the 4th Be With You—Want to Fight Fraud? ‘This is the Way…’

GAO (US Government Accountability Office)

Happy early Star Wars Day! A not so long time ago (April), in a galaxy nearby (ours), the Jedi Council (GAO) issued a first-of-its-kind estimate of fraud across federal programs and operations. We estimated that the federal government could lose.

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Early adoption of generative AI in commercial life sciences

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Pilots of generative AI commercial use cases at biopharmaceutical and medtech companies have been promising, but success at scale hinges on a clear—and budgeted—gen AI strategy and custom solutions.

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On Your Mind: Ras J. Baraka, Mayor, Newark, New Jersey

NLC (National League of Cities)

This blog post is part of the On Your Mind series featuring local leaders and early childhood champions across the country.

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Illinois' child welfare agency goes on a hiring spree

GCN

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has reduced hiring times for frontline workers from nine months to just a few weeks. Agency leaders hope a bigger staff will help improve the lives of kids it serves.

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7 Signs Your Local Government ERP Is Holding You Back: A Guide for Small Municipalities

Local governments and municipalities serving populations under 200,000 face distinctive challenges in delivering efficient and effective services to their communities. To overcome these challenges, many rely on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems tailored to their specific needs. Not all ERP systems are created equal, and some may hinder progress rather than support it.

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What Is Kerberoasting? How Can Agencies Boost Cyber Resilience?

FedTech Magazine

The government is an attractive target for cybercriminals and nation-state actors employing Kerberoasting attacks due to agencies’ reliance on Microsoft’s Active Directory for user authentication and authorization. Those agencies also manage vast amounts of sensitive data while faced with challenges related to legacy systems, bureaucratic processes and budget constraints, so it can be difficult for them to maintain adequate cybersecurity defenses against identity-based attacks such as Kerberoast

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Walking a Path Towards Indigenous Education

Homeroom

There is a famous phrase amongst Indigenous people about walking in two worlds: one being a path of traditional teachings, and the other being a path in the western world. I’ve related to and reflected on this statement all throughout my educational journey, but especially as I’ve worked to instill Native language & culture in Continue Reading The post Walking a Path Towards Indigenous Education appeared first on ED.gov Blog.

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Efforts to Address Current and Historic Environmental Injustice Need to be Strengthened

GAO (US Government Accountability Office)

Historically marginalized and underserved communities often face greater socioeconomic and environmental burdens such as disease, poverty, and pollution. Some communities are exposed to higher levels of air pollution from diesel exhaust, live closer.

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The rapid evolution of payments in Latin America

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Cash is no longer Latin Americans’ preferred way to pay, as debit cards, credit cards, and mobile payments have gained fans, presenting opportunities for financial-services companies.

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ASPA TIMES Magazine: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

PA TIMES Magazine is a publication of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), a not-for-profit corporation. This edition focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in public administration, including guest columns, insights for the field and interviews with city government DEI officers about their work at the local level.

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Winning Big with Federal Funding: How Grant-Writing Trainings Are Yielding Big Results

NLC (National League of Cities)

What do three mayors from Athens, Ohio; Maywood, Illinois; and Fairfax, Virginia, all have in common? Their participation in the Local Infrastructure Hub’s free training programs, led by the National League of Cities (NLC), has resulted in substantial federal funds to tackle local projects.

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How local governments can respond to the housing crisis

GCN

A new book by Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges of Strong Towns encourages local officials to promote small-scale developments, even if it means using city financial tools to get them off the ground.

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NIST Updated Its Cybersecurity Framework. What Does That Mean for Agencies?

FedTech Magazine

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s February release of version 2.0 of its Cybersecurity Framework is a milestone in the evolution of cyber standards, expanding them to encompass all sectors. CSF 2.0 is the first major overhaul of the framework — a published set of guidelines, best practices and standards for reducing organizations’ cyber risk first introduced in 2014 — which widens its scope beyond critical infrastructure entities to all entities.

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The Impacts of El Niño Go Far Beyond Water

The City Fix

Over the past several months, the climate pattern El Niño has disrupted different regions and sectors across the world. Zimbabwe recently declared a state of disaster, due largely to El Niño-induced drought. The city government in Bogotá, Colombia, announced water rationing as reservoir levels.

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Sustainable Facility Maintenance Management for Small Local Governments

Unlock the potential of sustainable facility management! This guide empowers small local governments to lead with climate-resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and more. Elevate your community's resilience, reduce costs, and embrace eco-friendly practices. Discover the role of facility maintenance teams in green cleaning, sustainability analyses, and infrastructure upgrades.

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Massive data breach exposes UK military personnel’s payroll information

Open Access Government - Technology News

An estimated 270,000 payroll records of Britain’s armed forces have been compromised due to a breach by a third-party contractor The breach, discovered recently, has left the personal information of current and former members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Reservists vulnerable to exploitation. Compromised data leak The compromised data includes names, bank details, and, in some cases, addresses and national insurance numbers.

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From start-up to centaur: Leadership lessons on scaling

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

This playbook for founder CEOs on scaling from start-up to standout and beyond borrows lessons from the global B2B software-as-a-service industry.

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What the Hazardous Substance Designation of PFAS Chemicals Means for Local Governments

NLC (National League of Cities)

On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law. PFOA and PFOS are two of the most widely used and widely studied PFAS chemicals.

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Amid campus protests nationwide, DC’s response stands out

GCN

The capital city’s police department cleared an encampment at a local university following pressure from House Republicans to be more forceful. But the District’s reluctance to take action sooner underlies lessons officials learned decades ago about the perils of aggressive enforcement.

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Proactive vs Reactive Maintenance: Making the Case for Preparedness

Discover comprehensive strategies for optimizing operations and achieving cost efficiency! This document offers insights into efficient inspections, data-driven decision-making, goal alignment, and resource optimization. It empowers local governments and maintenance departments to streamline operations and ensure significant cost savings. From aligning maintenance goals with community needs to leveraging data for strategic planning, this guide provides a roadmap for smoother, more reliable opera

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Uncover New Cybersecurity Solutions by Looking for the Hidden Patterns

FedTech Magazine

My son loves abstract paintings. He explained to me once how much I was missing by just seeing black paint on a white canvas. I hadn’t seen the energy, chaos or frustration that my son saw instantly, and which the artist later confirmed was there. My children, as I suspect is true for most children, see things differently. They can see things that my overly educated and highly biased mind may have missed or may have simply been trained to overlook as unimportant.

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Renaissance Learning improves operations and scalability by migrating to AWS

AWS Public Sector Blog

Renaissance Learning is a global leader in the pre-K–12 education technology (EdTech) space. Renaissance delivers its products to 16 million students across the world, and its digital solutions are used in more than one-third of US schools and 100-plus countries. As part of its cloud consolidation strategy, Renaissance decided to migrate DnA , its standards-based assessment creation and administration solution, from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

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Zero Trust: How can local councils defend against the increasing cyber threats?

Open Access Government - Technology News

The recent ransomware attack on Le icester City Council is a stern reminder of how vulnerable UK local councils are to increasing cyber threats. How should local councils defend themselves? The council not only experienced a massive 1.3 terabyte data theft but also saw its support services shut down , including child protection, adult social care safeguarding, and homelessness.

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Digital twins: Capturing value from renewable hydrogen megaprojects

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Hydrogen developers could use digital twins to improve the economic viability of renewable projects and meet increasing demand. Here, we illustrate how, using renewable hydrogen as an example.

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Facility Maintenance Trends for 2024: What's Changing in the Industry?

This comprehensive article delves into the transformative trends reshaping local government facility maintenance in anticipation of 2024. From embracing smart technology for efficient management, sustainability's pivotal role to data-driven decision-making, workforce upskilling, and predictive maintenance strategies, each aspect is explored. Insights into outsourcing collaborations, digital twins, safety enhancements, and the broader industry evolution highlight the critical adaptation needed.

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Mexico Made Safe Mobility a Human Right — Here’s How Its Streets Can Become Safer

The City Fix

Mexico became the first nation to declare access to safe mobility a human right in 2020 and two years later passed the General Law of Mobility and Road Safety to protect people, reduce collisions and promote sustainable modes of travel. Now, with this new.

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E-bikes are a ‘game changer’ for bike shares

GCN

Ridership on the systems in cities big and small after the pandemic is stronger than ever, and bike-share operators say the electric devices are a big reason why.

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How Youth Apprenticeship is Improving the Economy in Frederick Maryland

NLC (National League of Cities)

Co-authored by Allen Etzler, Communications Manager, City of Frederick May 5th – 11th will mark the first national Youth Apprenticeship Week, a nationwide celebration of earn-and-learn programs that benefit youth, employers, and cities. Apprenticeship programs allow youth to earn competitive wages while obtaining the relevant training and experience to start their careers.

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REBRANDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Barrett & Greene

Over the years, we’ve chatted with high school and college students about the potential of careers working for state and local governments. All too often their responses are something like “Yeah, I suppose so,” in tones that make us believe that they’re not supposing anything at all, except that the whole thing sounds like a crashing bore. This is particularly dismaying for the two of us who have devoted our careers to this corner of the world.

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Efficiency and Sustainability: Leveraging Digital Solutions in Facility Operations

Speaker: Alan Kavanaugh, BA, CRM, CCPI ​​​​​​​Director of Loss Control & Risk Management

This session is designed to unveil the transformative potential of digital solutions in reshaping conventional practices, offering a roadmap towards greener and more efficient facilities regardless of municipality size. Attendees will learn: Insights into cutting-edge trends and strategies in sustainable facility management. Practical knowledge to effectively incorporate digital solutions for operational efficiency.