by Sophicity Every new budget cycle brings a bevy of projects and ideas before city council for approval. While projects like sidewalk improvement or traffic decongestion are easy to explain in terms of benefits and return on investment, IT projects can be a thorny subject, especially if the council is largely made up of non-technicalRead… Read more »
As you likely know, President Obama is calling on all citizens to become part of the solution to the challenges of our time and to help make America great by serving in our communities. As members of the DC community, we are fortunate to have countless examples of public servants who work towards the greaterRead… Read more »
by Sophicity Phishing is a form of fraud that masquerades as an official email or website which attempts to steal a victim’s username, password, and other information. Typically, a scammer will send an email that appears to be from a well-known bank, asking the user to log in to their account. When the victim clicksRead… Read more »
by Sophicity At the end of April 2009, a computer hacker managed to steal over 8.2 million personal records from the State of Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program, containing information such as social security and driver’s license numbers. Along with the stolen data, the hacker reportedly erased all of the State’s database backups, leaving no wayRead… Read more »
by Sophicity When a municipality is tasked with reducing operating costs, one often overlooked area is energy use in the IT infrastructure. With energy prices on the rise, an increasingly taxed power grid and growing public concern over efficiency, new technologies and approaches to the way IT operates can lead to a dramatic reduction inRead… Read more »
Hi all, I think we’re making slow but sure progress on the two-way website. Web committee is reconstituted and engaged in vigorous debate and folks are doing what they can to update their sections. Web design and the web template is an issue with 14 Departments. Territory issues are also opportunities in our website update.Read… Read more »
The other day someone I follow on Twitter, @ConstructionPM, posted a link to an article written about the state of the current Municipal Bond Market. Normally, I suppose this would make for a dry read. But this article resonated with me. Bonding is important to me as an engineer, because I can’t build anything ifRead… Read more »
That’s how you eat an elephant. Following is the proposal I sent out to all employees in an email tonight. I spoke with all 14 Department Heads in a meeting Monday and with the Clerk, City Administrator and IS Director before heading out on the limb. Now I have to pitch the project through theRead… Read more »