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Washington Region's Leaders Discuss Security
by Chloe AlbanesiusMaryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams met in Annapolis on Tuesday to discuss the D.C. metropolitan area's homeland security issues. Ehrlich updated the participants on the region's plans for addressing terrorist threats.
The state and district governments currently are working with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to implement a security plan for the region.
At the Washington Board of Trade's annual meeting last month, Ridge stressed the need to protect technology by maintaining a "comprehensive map of the nation's critical infrastructure." He praised the efforts of the metropolitan Washington area for developing an emergency plan that combined coordination, mutual aid and the ability to communicate across jurisdictions, and he said he hopes other cities will follow suit.
The District on Nov. 22 held its first citizen-based disaster-relief drill, employing the nationwide tool for coordination of resources, the Incident Command System.
"Not only is our region home to the nation's capital, but it also ... hosts critical infrastructure sites such as the National Institutes of Health and the Pentagon," Ehrlich said. "Our law enforcement officials must continue working in a multi-jurisdictional way to protect our citizens and these important sites from threats" that have materialized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Since the attack on the Pentagon, counties in Virginia have fixed some of their communications problems, but Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said in a recent hearing that officials in Arlington County, where the Pentagon is located, told her they still lack equipment that would enable them to talk to their federal counterparts, which is essential when responding to terrorist situations.
The three leaders met in April for the first meeting among the three regions in 12 years. They also addressed issues concerning transportation and tourism at Tuesday's meeting.
Tennessee University Opens Technology Institute
The University of Memphis on Nov. 19 officially opened its FedEx Institute of Technology as a venue for interdisciplinary technology research after more than two years of planning. The Tennessee Board of Regents provided $15 million for the project, while FedEx donated $5 million, the city of Memphis allocated $2 million and Shelby County gave $1 million.
AT&T last year gave a $200,000 grant to the institute in order to support the school's goal of campus-wide IT fluency. In addition, EDS in January donated $30.6 million in software. The university currently has a master's program in e-commerce and a Center for Managing Emerging Technology.
The structure includes a 200-seat auditorium and a 60-seat theater. Dining facilities include wired and wireless Internet access and meeting rooms allow for videoconferencing.
No More Dirt Cheap Cigarettes In Maryland
Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran on Wednesday announced that the state settled its dispute with an online cigarette retailer.
Under the deal, the operators of www.dirtcheapcig.com no longer can sell to Maryland residents over the Internet and must pay a fine of $61,000. Dirt Cheap maintains its innocence.
The state's consumer-protection division in June opened an investigation into the Web site after allegations surfaced about it selling to minors and avoiding state cigarette taxes and licensing laws. A minor, under the supervision of Curran's office successfully purchased a carton of cigarettes from Missouri-based Dirt Cheap without having to provide identification.
"The settlement ensures that Maryland's kids will have one less avenue for buying cigarettes through the anonymity of the Internet," Curran said in a release.
Also in Maryland, Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett last week announced that the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2004 now awaiting final congressional action includes $800,000 for a welcome center on I-270 in Frederick County. "I have been a long-time advocate and user of new technologies to reduce energy use and protect the environment," Bartlett said in a release. "The Western Maryland Welcome Center represents an exciting opportunity to ... promote state-of-the-art, sustainable technologies in a practical setting."
'Phishing' For Credit Data In North Carolina
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper on Monday warned state residents to beware of Internet identity thieves "phishing" to steal personal information via fake e-mails.
Ten North Carolinians last week reported receiving e-mails that appeared to be from reputable companies asking customers to re-enter personal information on a separate Web page, a practice known as phishing. The perpetrators sent e-mail to EarthLink and Citibank customers, telling them that they were unable to process recent credit-card purchases and requesting that the customers please enter their credit-card numbers so the transactions could be completed.
EarthLink and Citibank did not send the e-mails, and any entered information is now in the hands of the criminals. "Before you share your information with anyone, make sure you know who you are really dealing with and how they plan to use the information," Cooper warned in a release.
In other news, a North Carolina law requiring that DNA profiles from all felons and some misdemeanor offenders be added to the existing DNA database took effect Monday. Sixty-two sheriffs and 200 sheriffs' officials last month were trained in how to take new DNA samples. "The expanded database will help our ability to catch and convict criminals, especially in cases without a suspect," Cooper said in a release.
Report Critiques Regulatory Reality In States
The regulatory model governing state public-utilities commissions must be overhauled in order to address their fundamental inadequacies, according to a new report.
Technological improvements over the past 150 years have forced the state commissions to move from regulating railroads to making and implementing competition policy for electronic communication, said the report, which was written by Ray Gifford, president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), and published in the Review of Network Economics. "State commissions which once regulated monopolies are now asked to open markets to competition," wrote Gifford, a former chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
In other news, Kent Lassman, director of PFF's Digital Policy Network, was named to the President's Advisory Council for the State Policy Network.
"State think tanks are increasingly active on technology, Internet and telecommunications issues, and I'm excited about the prospect of a more vigorous research agenda on these issues from local organizations," Lassman said.
The council will create opportunities for training programs, professional development and improved management of nearly four-dozen think tanks across the country.
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