Infrastructure
Feds offer new data, research to refresh states’ water woes
A new report and data tool from the U.S. Geological Survey can help policymakers better understand where water supply risks exist in the U.S. to inform efforts to better manage the critical resource.
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New Tools Help State and Local Governments Battle Ransomware, Other Big Disasters
When governments find themselves being ransomed, their choices are typically to pay, which will undercut their ability to deliver key services to their communities due to budget restrictions, or not pay, resulting in the immediate inability to serve their communities and the loss of key data that will inevitably plague them for years afterwards.
As data center boom continues, Va. legislators broach new regulations
A bipartisan coalition of Virginia lawmakers seeks to balance economic growth with energy fairness and environmental protections.
Feds still aren’t fully backing satellite for BEAD grants
States can use money from the $42 billion program to reserve space on satellite networks or reimburse providers when they hit certain milestones. But the tech can only receive money if no other options exists for an area.
AI air pollution takes deadly health toll
COMMENTARY | Air pollution from AI is expected to result in as many as 1,300 premature deaths a year by 2030 in the United States, researchers say.
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GAO mulls cost evaluation of nationwide telecom hardware replacement
One major vulnerability exploited by China’s Salt Typhoon hacking unit is a Cisco hardware flaw that can’t be patched and requires physical replacement, according to a person with knowledge of the intrusions.
Rural Montana’s China tech challenge
Montana’s two largest telephone cooperatives took a multimillion-dollar hit when the federal government pulled the plug on Chinese tech company Huawei. Now they’re getting compensated to replace it, but is it enough to do the job?
High-speed internet to expand in rural areas impacting students in seven NM school districts
Nearly 40,000 households in seven rural New Mexico school districts will receive high-speed home internet in coming months, following state grants from the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion’s Student Connect program.
Missouri city turns to tech to improve snow removal
Kansas City’s snowplow operators are clearing snow quicker and keeping residents safer with the help of a cloud-hosted platform.
Feds push out dollars for states’ digital equity efforts
With just weeks left until President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the NTIA is sending millions of dollars out the door. But not everyone agrees it’s a good idea.
How utilities are working to meet AI data centers’ voracious appetite for electricity
Utilities have options for addressing surging power demand from AI data centers, but there’s no silver bullet.
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Massive data centers consuming large amounts of energy have eyes on South Dakota
‘Utilities are getting calls every week,’ state regulator says.
The drawbacks of government-owned broadband networks
As communities determine how to divvy up BEAD funding, a new report suggests deploying publicly owned broadband networks may not always be an effective use of the money.
Texas has billions pledged to expand broadband. Spending it is taking a while.
Despite the efforts of local governments and others, the move to provide internet access to millions of Texans has been slow and faces new challenges.
‘The $42B question’: What’s next for federal broadband funding?
The Trump administration could fiddle with the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program or even claw back funds. But the ball will be in states’ courts given how quickly they have moved, and the momentum behind getting people connected.
Huge gas plant eyed to power mystery $5B Louisiana data center
An electric utility is proposing a new $3.2 billion natural gas plant to run a ‘game changing’ data center in northeast Louisiana, but critics question the move.
Report: Broadband can transform a rural community
New research shows a more than 200% growth rate for businesses in rural areas with high broadband utilization rates.
Data centers, which require massive amounts of energy and few jobs, have downsides for Alaska
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has invited big tech companies, including affiliates of Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon, to build data centers in Alaska.
‘Renewable energy growth is truly a 50-state story now’: New report shows big jump in solar, wind, EVs
A coalition of environmental groups finds U.S. renewable energy development has tripled in the past decade.
Nevada says it worked out the kinks in its new voter system in time for the election, but concerns remain
After recent practice runs showed significant problems in transferring data accurately, the battleground state’s new centralized voter registration system will get its first real-world test in a major presidential election.
More states ban PFAS, or forever chemicals, in more products
In total this year, at least 16 states adopted 22 PFAS-related measures.
