FEMA on YouTube, Twitter
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now has its own channel on Youtube: youtube.com/fema and its own twitter feed: twitter.com/femainfocus. And, of course, it has a number of RSS feeds, fema.gov/help/rss.shtm. More here: FEMA In Focus: Where FEMA Was, Is Now, and Where FEMA Is Going, FEMA Press Release HQ-09-004, January 7, 2009. FEMA starts channel on YouTube, By Alice Lipowicz, FCW.com, Jan 08, 2009. Continue reading
Obama Plans to Digitize Health Records
A special report from CNN.com states that Obama plans to digitize health records within the next five years. This is one of the endeavors to restore the economy as government estimates that this program will create around 212,000 jobs. However, there are some concerns about it because: 1) Commonwealth Fund, RAND, and Harvard have conducted independent studies which reveal that this program would cost between $75-100 billion dollars over the implementation period. The major cost will be incurred in traning the work force. 2) At present, only "about 8% of the nation's 5,000 hospitals and 17% of its 800,000 physicians currently use the kind of common computerized record-keeping systems that Obama envisions for the whole nation." 3) The privacy of patients must be protected as the nationalized system may be affected by system failures and hackers. Obama asserts that this program will create new jobs, cut medical costs, and save $200-300 billion per year for the health industry. Continue reading
Volunteering Opportunities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Those who would like to volunteer for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will find opportunities via MLKDay.gov You can locate service opportunities within your state using keywords and selecting a state from the drop-down box. Options are also available to register individual projects/organizations. Marketing resources can be accessed through the website. A press release from MLKDay.gov states that Colin Powell inaugurated a new website, USAService.org which has been “created by the Presidential Inaugural Committee where Americans can find volunteer opportunities for the January 19 King Holiday or sign up to host a local event.” Continue reading
Other Transparency Measures
Yesterday, I posted an entry about Maryland's new accountability website. There are other states and non-profits that have taken similar efforts. The ones that I came across are: On 01/05/09, Georgia launched the Open Georgia: Transparency in Government - Not only does it provide information, but also solicits feedback from the public. On 01/01/09, Kentucky started the Open Door: Kentucky's Portal to eTransparency. There are plans to provide a new Budget Builder Game and also educational materials. Websites launched in 2007 & 2008 Missouri - Missouri Accountability Portal (MAP) Nebraska - Nebraska.Spending.com Oklahoma - Open Books: Oklahoma's Finances Online Texas - Window on State Government Alaska - Checkbook Online Kansas - KanView Louisiana - Louisiana Transparency and Accountability (LaTrac) Maine - MaineOpenGov.org New York - SeeThroughNY South Carolina - South Carolina Spending Transprency Continue reading
Maryland initiates New Funding Accountability website
The state of Maryland has initiated the new Maryland Funding Accountability website that “allows citizens of Maryland and visitors to search and view summary information on payments made to vendors that received $25,000 or more for the respective fiscal year.” Using this new website, the public can view how their tax money is being spent by the government. At present, information is available only for the 2008 fiscal year. Governor Martin O’Malley stated that the main objective in creating the website was to promote government accountability and transparency. Continue reading