Google Stuck Waiting in Line at the DMV; Seeking State Troopers in Washington

Here’s some of what we’ve been reading today…

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California: Google is stuck in line at the DMV, the Associated Press reports. Last year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles was supposed to write rules that would govern the company’s driverless cars. The rules have yet to appear. Google says it doesn’t want to reveal too much for the public record about their pathbreaking technology, but he DMV says it has never really considered anything like this before and it has questions. The AP:

If the cars' advanced sensors and computing power can drive better than humans, do they need a steering wheel and pedals? Would a person even need to be inside? Google says no on both.

Regulators don't want to be blamed for unnecessarily stalling the arrival of robo-chauffeurs that can see farther, react faster and don't text, speed or fall asleep. They've implored Google and traditional automakers also developing the technology to share safety data, but companies in competition don't willingly reveal trade secrets.

But digital-age giant Google is impatient. The company’s Chris Urmson, the man at the head of the car project, told reporters he doesn't want his eldest son to need a driver's license when he turns 16. That’s three-and-a-half-years from now. [Associated Press via ABC Action News Tampa]

OLYMPIA, Washington: The Evergreen State is losing state troopers and unable to fill vacancies, largely because $77,000 a year ranks low on the local law-enforcement payscale, reports The Seattle Times. The result is that the state patrol force is becoming as gray as an empty stretch of fog-shrouded Snohomish County road. Veteran troopers are retiring, and young people aren’t applying to take their place. “There were 106 vacancies as of Oct. 30—out of a total 671 positions,” reports the newspaper. “The average monthly number of unfilled positions has risen each year since 2009.” The Patrol is now recruiting prospects from other states. It also launched a marketing campaign in which young troopers tell on-the-job stories of adventure and commitment to public service. “You never know what you’re going to do when you come into work,” says Trooper Chelsea Krotzer in one of the audio spots. “There’s nothing routine about being a trooper.” [The Seattle Times]

CHARLESTON, West Virginia: The Mountain State school board is repealing national Common Core math and English testing and curriculum standards and replacing them with a state version after politics around the issue exploded in the legislature last year, reports The Charleston Gazette-Mail. The board initially stood in favor of Common Core, testifying at the legislature that altering the curriculum and tests would unnecessarily disrupt education and cost the state $100 million. But political heat around the national standards shows no sign of fading. The move to introduce replacement state standards seems largely a nod to that reality. Only roughly 100 of the standards will be altered. There will be wording “clarifications” and “some deletions,” according to the newspaper. School officials said they weren’t certain how the change might “impact textbooks and other instructional materials currently used by West Virginia schools.”  [The Charleston Gazette-Mail]

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut: FBI Director James Comey lauded an anti-crime program called Project Longevity launched years ago in the Constitution State’s second-largest city. He said it is the kind of effort needed now more than ever to successfully address the mistrust that has characterized interactions between police and minority communities across the country, The Hartford Courant reports. Comey on Monday was speaking in town at a conference on policing. Project Longevity sees members of the police force and the community meet regularly with gang members. "I think the project shows what can happen when law enforcement and a community come together to come up with solutions to problems plaguing the neighborhoods," Comey said. "It gives gang members a second chance, it gives them a pathway out of destructive lifestyles.” Hartford and Bridgeport also have adopted the New Haven project. Comey said his son interned with Project Longevity last summer. [The Hartford Courant]

PLEASANT POINT, Maine: The “uneasy peace” in Maine between the state government and American Indian tribes is falling apart, reports the Associated Press. The sides are clashing on fishing rights and casino policy and a host of other topics. Gov. Paul LePage withdrew a feel-good cooperation order. Some state tribes have withdrawn their representatives from the legislature. “This marriage is little more than a shotgun wedding between unwilling partners,” said Fred Moore, chief of the Passamaquoddy. He said his tribe is “finished “going to Augusta asking for things.” Tribes in Maine are seeking sovereignty. Similar clashes are heating up around the country. Dakota tribes have battled their Great Plains hosts over marijuana policy and oil-and-gas development. [The Associated Press via The Kennebec Journal / Morning Sentinel]