The Center for Digital Government has ranked the top 25 e-government-enabled states, and Virginia has ranked…nothing. We didn’t even make the list. Rankings were based on states’ “utilization of digital technologies to deliver services to citizens.” Our offerings are pretty meager in that department, unfortunately. (Our e-government site was last updated the day that it was launched, in May of 2000.) The big winners were Illinois and Kansas. And we’re “the digital dominion?”
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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Um. There’s only 50 states, so we had like a one in two chance. And still didn’t make it? Wow, thanks VPTC.
Blaming the VPTC for these rankings is probably the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard anyone say on this subject.
First: The VPTC is more concerned with the Charlottesville-Albemarle area and the surrounding counties; hence the “Virginia Piedmont” part of “VPTC.” The VPTC is also part of the VTA (Virginia Technology Alliance) which is a loose association of the regional tech councils. The rankings reflect the status of technology-enabled state government services; to blame one regional tech council for the entire state’s problems is narrow-minded and ill-informed.
Second: If you don’t agree with what the VPTC is doing, then no one is stopping you from paying dues, joining VPTC, volunteering on a committee, and actually doing some work for the tech community in which you are a member. VPTC exists due to the efforts of those in the tech community that actually give a crap about what happens and have the guts and the work ethic to do something about it. The VPTC can only be responsive to your needs and goals as a member of the tech community if you actually communicate those needs in a productive way instead of making asinine, uninformed remarks in a forum such as this.
Bottom line: A) VPTC has a very, very, very small role in something that affects the state as a whole; B) Get off the sidelines and get involved in VPTC — pony up and pay dues; if you already pay dues, then stop whining and get involved with something that will make a change for you and your business.
Naw, the VPTC doesn’t have anything to do with this. This is good ol’-fashioned hard-headed Virginia government. I suspect that having Warner as governor may change that. Obviously, as you can see from the Virginia e-gov’t site, our current Governor seems to think that making a big deal about e-government is all that it takes to have a “digital dominion.” I’ll bet that Warner won’t make a big deal out of it, but get 10x more done.
I hope. :)
I tryed to get my paroll offiser to talk to me
on the internet, but he said the govermint wont
give him a computer.