The National Land Survey of Finland will open its topographic data on May 1st.
- SDI Magazine via @Christophe_ESRI)
The head of St. Joseph County’s Transportation Authority [Michigan] wanted its latest vehicle to stand out...
A “vehicle-wrap” that covers the van’s exterior features a large-scale map of St. Joseph County. Although not suitable for actual map use, the design features most communities in the county and many major roads.
The "wrap" cost about $1000 and is considered a good advertising investement.
- Sturgis Journal
The city of Safford, Arizona
has cut three full-time employees from its Geographic Informations Systems Department, including administrator Raymond Brunner, who was the Arizona Professional Land Surveyors Association's Geospatial Professional of the Year for 2008. Safford is finalizing discussions with Graham County to disseminate information captured at the city's facility. A data collector was the only position retained in the city's GIS department.
The responsibilities will be merged into the county to save money.
[City Manager David] Kincaid said the GIS Department cost the city about $1.2 million over the past four years and $365,000 in the last year alone. The cost to keep systems running with only a data collector is estimated to be about $75,000, and the pending contract with the county is expected to be about $200,000 per year.
- East Arizona Courier
Oak Hill, West Virginia claims first in the county status on its planned GIS.
“This is the way of the future,” says [Town Manager Bill] Hannabass. “The county got on board with it a while back. I’m proud to follow them as the first municipality in the county, and one of the only ones in the state with GIS.”
The GIS administrator will be a police officer.
- Register Herald
by Adena Schutzberg on 01/31 at 05:31 AM |
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The East Hampton Village (NY) Police Chief Jerry Larson lobbied village trustees on Thursday morning for $55,000 over three years to improve the system.points to outdated maps as a threat to public safety, Updates to the 911 system must go through the county and updates from 2006 have still not been made. So, the Village will buy a new GIS.
His [Larson's] department wants to purchase a new Geographic Information Systems mapping system from ESRI, a firm that is the largest designer of public safety mapping systems.
- East Hampton Patch
The Athens City Council (Alabama) is working out its redistricting. Nothing new there. What it? The title of the GIS person: "GIS Engineer Micah Cochran,..."
- News-Courier
South Australia now has statewide online fire planning maps. They are used by fire staff for planning and to let the public know about prescribed burns. They are far better than old paper maps says Department of Environment acting senior fire management officer Tina Besednjak.
The old paper map wasn't interactive, you couldn't zoom in and it wasn't really put on the website. Now we can put it out there and people can jump online anytime.
by Adena Schutzberg on 01/10 at 06:47 AM |
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Minnesota transportation officials are looking for a few good drivers for a test program that might someday lead to a mileage-based tax.
The 500 volunteers needed in Hennepin and Wright counties will use GPS-equipped smartphones to record and submit travel information. The idea is to see how well such a system works.
The state is looking ahead to a time when so many electric and hybrid vehicles are on the roads that a gas tax no longer nets enough money to build and maintain roads. A mileage tax would collect money based on how many miles someone drives rather than on how much gas they use.
- Daily Journal
For Mike Munda, it’s the variety of tasks that make up his work as Stephenson County’s [IL] GIS technician that keeps him constantly engaged in his job.
Not only does Munda oversee the technical aspects of the local Geographic Information System (GIS), but he also works on special mapping projects, completes graphic design and database support work for the county, and serves as the county’s “go-to guy” for many Information Technology issues.
...
On April 13, Munda was presented with the 2011 Leadership Award by County Board Chairman John Blum. The award is given out annually during Blum’s State of the County Address, as a way to recognize county employees who have “exhibited outstanding leadership qualities,” Blum said.
- Journal Standard
Candidates are busy running for political office.
Paul Mathison, 51, is running, too -- not for office, but around the state to draw attention to a political issue. "The PennUltimate Run" took him through part of Erie County [PA] on Wednesday.
Mathison is running 1,000 miles around the state to raise awareness about the remapping of congressional and state legislative districts. He wants residents to push the Legislature and Gov. Tom Corbett to conduct the process openly and to produce compact districts.
- Erie Times News
Matt Bradbury, who volunteers in the Redlands, CA information technology department, was honored by the City Council on Tuesday as part of Volunteer Appreciation Month.
Bradbury is working with the city's GIS team creating a data model that "we will be able to use for years to come," said David Hexem, the city's chief information officer.
"He wanted to gain work experience in an environment where he could take on the workload but not the pressure of being an employee," Hexem said. "I'd hire him a second if we had an opening here."
- Press Enterprise
by Adena Schutzberg on 04/22 at 02:40 AM |
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Shelby County, IL approved hiring Bruce Harris and Associates to do a cost study on increasing recording fees in the county clerk and recorder's offices to fund the county's GIS. The study will show the public the extra fees are needed. The plan:"Funds from the $12 increase in recording fees will go to saving for a $126,000 photographic flyover the county will have done for the GIS in three years."
- Herald Review
The mayor and council of New Rochelle, NY believe raw crime statistics alone could give people the wrong impression of their city. So, they've decided to remove an online crime map in favor of an e-mail alert system for residents. Interesting comments. And before it could go any further, SpotCrime stepped in to fill the void.
- CBS New York
- SpotCrime blog
Salisbury, New Brunswick, Canada is a village prepping for its first GIS.
Tom Johnson of Mojo Mapping and GIS is seeking its first contract and is making a pitch to do the work for between $8,000 and $10,000, depending on the availability of existing data. If the company needs to collected data it would do so "using a hand-held GIS device that was a cross between a satellite phone and a sophisticated computer." Interesting description of... a GPS enabled data collector? The village is looking for a "deal" from the consultant since it's the firm's first project. Good plan.
Mojo and other Canadian firms can tout another benefit beyond the regular ones for local GIS: the "Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) principles, which are being mandated for all municipalities by 2012. The PSAB principles require municipalities to amortize all their assets and report against their value." Sounds like GASB34 here in the U.S.
- Times Transcript
by Adena Schutzberg on 03/17 at 04:45 AM |
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The Cassville City Council (MO) "Authorized an agreement to obtain GIS data from Barry County. Under the agreement, the city will pay $125 a month for access to the information that will allow city officials to map city boundaries, voting districts and city infrastructure grids."
- Cassville Democrat
"The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that merchants can no longer ask for the ZIP codes of customers who make purchases with credit cards because such requests violate a state consumer-protection law."
- AP via @atanas
Sacremento, CA is doing a trial of "hotspot policing" to help curb crime with the same number of officers. "SPD said the “hot spots” are small geographic areas with chronic high crime or high calls for service histories. The Minnesota study concluded that the optimum time for patrol officers to be visible at each hot spot would be for short periods throughout the day." The 90 trail began Feb 8 in partnership with George Mason Univeristy.
- KCRA
A new online reporting system is the latest weapon in the never ending war waged between potholes and vehicle owners. The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association are sponsoring the new web site, which will allow drivers to submit pothole locations, photos and comments to the road industry group. MITA - which represents 600 companies in the construction trades - will use the information to create a new statewide Google map. The map will appear on the group's website at www.drivemi.org.
- Detroit News
Palm Bay, Florida will run MapNimbus, a web portal that allows the public to query the Palm Bay Police Department's database of reported crimes. The GTG solution will be online at http://www.palmbayflorida.org/police/crimemapping.html once its fully tested.
- CF News
by Adena Schutzberg on 02/15 at 04:42 AM |
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