Government Computer News
THE 50 STATES
THE 50 STATES: MONTANA to WYOMING
MONTANA
PAYROLL BLUES. Montana’s new $16.5 million payroll system from PeopleSoft Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., has been plagued with problems, Administration Department officials said.
Recently, 419 employees were shortchanged in their paychecks because of a glitch.
One of the reasons Montana officials decided to switch to PeopleSoft from its 1970s-vintage mainframe system was to prevent year 2000 problems, department officials said.
NEBRASKA
PERMIT PROFITS. In its first year of issuing hunting and fishing licenses online, the Game and Parks Commission sold $1.4 million worth of permits over its Web site at www.hawk.ngpc.state.ne.us/license/permits.html.
Commission officials used iHTML, scripting tools from Inline Internet Systems of Mississauga, Ontario, to build the site, which accesses a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database. CyberCash Inc. of Reston, Va., processes credit card information, protecting data with the SSL protocol.
NEVADA
BUS TRANSFER. Gov. Kenny Guinn was among the first to try out the Computer on Wheels, a school bus that nonprofit group Classrooms on Wheels converted into a rolling computer lab for adults. Guinn was joined by Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt.
Gateway Inc. donated and installed seven Essential 400c PCs with 400-MHz Celeron processors and 64M of RAM, equipped with Lifetime Library software from Learning 2000 of Franklin, Tenn., Windows 98 and Corel WordPerfect.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
TOWN MEETING. Gov. Jeanne Shaheen joined President Clinton and four other officials for an online town meeting last month. During the Town Hall Voicechat, sponsored by the Democratic Leadership Council and the Excite@Home Web service, residents could view proceedings via the Web and submit questions for the officials.
Other participants were San Jose, Calif., Mayor Ron Gonzales; Bethlehem, Pa., Mayor Donald Cunningham; Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Wisconsin state Rep. Antonio Riley; and DLC president Al From. Visit www.excite.com/townhall for more information.
NEW JERSEY
RE-UP. Starting next month, an IBM Corp. system will let New Jersey drivers renew vehicle registrations either through an interactive voice response phone system or via the Web, by credit card payment.
State data and business rules are on a server that connects through the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ AAMVAnet network to IBM RS/6000 servers running AIX.
The Web server will run IBM WebSphere, and the IVR server will run IBM CorePoint.
The IVR server will also run IBM ViaVoice voice recognition software to collect information verbally.
NEW MEXICO
FOLLOW THE SUN. The Education Retirement Board Web site recently went up at www.era.state.nm.us.
The site offers a benefits calculator, forms, news and contact information for the state’s retired teachers. It also explains the New Mexico flag’s sun symbol created by the Zia Pueblo.
The symbol points in four directions representing the four sacred obligations: to develop a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit and a devotion to the welfare of others.
NEW YORK
DATA HOME. The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Bureau of Housing Services took part in a Center for Technology in Government project that developed a prototype system to compile aggregated data on the state’s homeless population via the Web.
 Teachers at Maryland’s Bowie High School use Silent Watch, which lets them view what is on any student’s screen at any time; it records keystrokes and blocks content. |
The Homeless Information Management System prototype took data from state, city and nonprofit providers and placed it into an Oracle Express database. Government and nonprofit users could tap demographic data on certain populations to help determine ways to help them.
BHS is seeking funds to further develop the system, CTG project director Theresa Pardo said.
NORTH CAROLINA
DATA GATHERING. The State Treasurer has developed three Web applications that rely on IBM’s SecureWay software suite to cull data from various sources:
• A state agency’s human resources workers can access password-protected retirement data for the agency’s employees from a database of 400,000 people.
• Employees who left the state, took their retirement benefits and then returned can visit the Web to calculate their retirement buy-back fee.
• Agency officials can tap into password-protected data from an Oracle Corp. database of imaged checks issued by that agency.
Web site manager Doug Piner wrote the applications in Hypertext Markup Language and Java.
NORTH DAKOTA
BUILDING TRUST. The Information Technology Department chose Entrust PKI software from Entrust Technologies Inc. of Plano, Texas, to create a secure online environment for state employees. State network officials will use Entrust’s digital keys, certificates and encryption products to secure the state’s e-mail and Web applications.
North Dakota officials said the products will help the state build a foundation for additional security features, such as virtual private networks.
OHIO
NEXT-GENERATION VOTING. About 2,400 students in nine Clark County schools took to the virtual polls last month through a program called Kids Voting. VoteHere.net of Kirkland, Wash., set up the Web voting system. The company first entered student registration data into a database, business development director Peter Adlerberg said.
 Gov. William J. Janklow, left, and friends ring in the holidays on the South Dakota Web site at www.state.sd.us/governor/ xmas99/xmas99.cfm. |
On election day, students gave school poll site workers their names and received a disk and a personal identification number. The students inserted the disk into a PC, which verified their registration and brought up the Ohio ballot via the Web.
OKLAHOMA
MAPPING THE WAY. Two Transportation Department employees, Jay Adams and Tim Callahan, won an award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for building a geographic information system.
Adams and Callahan used GIS software, including MGE Segment Manager, Basic Nucleus and InRoads Survey from Intergraph Corp. of Huntsville, Ala., to combine 20 legacy databases into one comprehensive GIS.
The new system has helped DOT submit highway data to the Federal Highway Administration faster and more accurately, officials said.
OREGON
FAST ALERT. Lane County’s Community Emergency Notification System (CENS) alerted 1,646 homes, businesses and government agencies in about three minutes over four trunked lines.
The computer-generated emergency warning system ran on US West’s Emergency Preparedness Network (EPN), a reverse 911 system.
CENS accessed residents’ numbers from a database maintained by SCC Communications of Boulder, Colo.
SCC analysts used software from Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. of Redlands, Calif., to create a digital map of the area covered by EPN, correlating every phone with its location.
If, for example, there is a toxic spill in the southwest corner of town, the network will alert residents in that area, SCC officials said.
PENNSYLVANIA
SPRAWLING SYSTEM. The commonwealth has inked a $95 million deal with M/A-COM Inc. of Lowell, Mass., for the Statewide Public Safety Digital Radio Communications System. M/A-COM will supply infrastructure equipment for the digital voice and data radio communications network, which will run over the company’s OpenSky Wireless Internet Protocol.
The network, scheduled for completion in 2001, will run from network control centers, regional control centers and several hundred base stations. Users will include public-safety, environmental-protection and transportation agency employees.
RHODE ISLAND
CLAIMS TRACK. The state’s Labor and Training Department is rolling the MI3 MS 3000 document imaging system from Minolta Information Systems Inc. of Mahwah, N.J., to its five agencies.
The Temporary Disability Insurance, Overpayment Unit, Call Center, Worker’s Compensation and Rehabilitation Center agencies will file and access claims records within the system, said Rick DeBerardis, Northeast sales manager for integrator AMS Imaging of Warwick.
SOUTH CAROLINA
SAT CATS. Twenty high schools will receive about 500 notebook PCs next month through a state Education Department pilot aimed at improving students’ Scholastic Assessment Test scores.
The Legislature this summer allocated $1 million for the project, most of which will go toward PC buys under existing state contracts, SAT Improvement Committee chairwoman Marjorie Claytor said. Each school will buy and install the SAT preparation software of its choice.
SOUTH DAKOTA
HOLIDAY CHEER. The Governor’s Office worked with South Dakota Public Broadcasting to set up a live Web cam to show the Christmas tree and holiday celebrations at the Capitol in Pierre.
The site, at www.state.sd.us/governor/xmas99/xmas99.cfm, will show the tree and celebrations until Dec. 26.
TENNESSEE
ONE BIG MAP. The state’s Finance and Administration Department has accepted bids for management and data conversion services to create a digital statewide map for use in geographic information systems.
The map will incorporate digital orthophotography, digital surface data, parcel data and planimetric data. The project will also use data sets of municipal, county and public utility agencies. The state ultimately wants a seamless digital parcel layer that could tie into assessment databases.
TEXAS
ON GUARD. Logicon Inc. recently won a six-year contract valued at $80 million from the Protective and Regulatory Services Department.
The Herndon, Va., company will provide the department with network monitoring, help desk, disaster recovery and other services. The department has 6,000 employees in 275 offices throughout the state, charged with protecting the physical safety and emotional well-being of children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
UTAH
OLYMPIC SPONSOR. Salt Lake City’s Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games recently selected Gateway Inc. as its computer hardware sponsor. The committee is made up of local civic, business and sports leaders who are appointed by Mayor Deedee Corradini and Gov. Michael Leavitt.
Gateway will supply the committee with more than 5,000 PCs to help track official event results, statistics and standings for Olympic officials, athletes, coaches, spectators and the media. When the Games are over, Gateway will donate the PCs to local schools and community associations.
VERMONT
ROLLING ALONG. Hudson Microimaging of Port Ewen, N.Y., is microfilming and digitally indexing 110 cubic feet of election, corporate and political-action records for the State Archives.
The records system runs VersaImage from Image Vision Corp. of Ridgefield Park, N.J. Hudson Microimaging scans the records and keys indexing data, which is recorded at the bottom of the film, company sales manager Paul Dunkel said.
Users search a database for the documents they need and place the film roll into a reader, and the system goes to the exact spot on the roll.
Users can then capture the images digitally for printing, saving or transmitting via e-mail.
VIRGINIA
SIGN HERE. The state’s Council on Technology Services has adopted a report from a council workgroup recommending a seven-point plan for digital signature use in state government.
The plan is intended to enhance the security of electronic transactions to boost electronic commerce and economic development.
“Digital signatures are key to making government responsive to the information economy,” Technology Secretary Don Upson said.
Check out the details at www.sotech.state.va.us/cots.
WASHINGTON
ADULT ACCESS. The Aging and Adult Services Administration last month agreed to use OC://WebConnect Enterprise Server products from OpenConnect Systems Inc. of Dallas to give social service workers access to mainframe-hosted Medicaid information over the state intranet.
Administration officials will install 250 OC://WebConnect Pro concurrent user licenses.
WEST VIRGINIA
ANTE UP. The West Virginia Lottery is upgrading its system that collects data from 4,500 video lottery terminals at four racetracks. The system, from International Game Technology of Reno, Nev., will initially poll a modem device at each site daily via a dial-up link.
The lottery plans to go online by May by changing the system connections to a private-line service that will transmit data continually rather than once daily, systems manager Pam Lopez said.
WISCONSIN
FORM RANKS. The state’s Administration Department is moving and shaking its electronic forms catalog. It has upgraded the format to FormFlow 99 from JetForm Corp. of Ottawa, and it is moving from a 16-bit client-server system to a 32-bit browser system that agencies can access through the state intranet.
The forms catalog, which contains about 50 statewide forms and 50 individual program forms, continues to grow, data forms and records coordinator Joyce Endres said. Agencies can use the standard templates as is or alter reusable objects within them to fulfill specialized needs.
WYOMING
HIGH RISK. The Criminal Investigation Division recently posted a Web site of sex offenders who are considered likely to commit additonal sex crimes.
The site, at www.stat.wy.us/~ag/dci/so/so_registration.html, posts names, addresses, dates and places of birth, dates and places of conviction, crimes, photographs, and physical characteristics of sex offenders who have been classified by the District Courts as being at high risk of committing further sex crimes.
Each of the approximately 700 sex offenders who were in the state’s system since the Sex Offender Registration Act went into effect July 1 had to have a court hearing to determine whether the offender was at low, moderate or high risk of committing another sex offense. Only high-risk offenders are posted on the Web site.
| |||
| Latest News |  WashingtonTechnology.com |
FCW.com |
|
 |
![1105 Government Information Group [happiness]](/images/1105logo_website.gif "Government Computer News [happiness]")
© 1996-2008 1105 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
