Friday, February 07, 2003

More on Interoperability Why Can't We Talk is a document prepared by the National Task Force on Interoperability which advises public officials on communications issues. State and local governments must take the lead and collaboratively formulate an interoperability architecture that provides a roadmap for all to follow. This is an area where we have made substantial strides in Utah - both in voice and data communications - for public safety, health, first responders, transportation and public works, etc. Read the document; if you're a public safety agency or first responder in Utah and still have concerns, come to the table.  Some exciting things are happening. 4:46:50 PM

California Comptroller Supports SST Will California support the Streamlined Sales Tax Initiative?  California Comptroller Steve Westly now supports it and he should, particularly with a growing deficit that is threatening to lower the state's bond rating to one of the lowest in the country.  Dan Gillmor is in Governor Leavitt's corner on this one. Governing Magazine recently released a 50-state report entitled The Way We Tax.  According to the report, 11 states, representing nearly a third of the people in the U.S. — including California, Florida and Texas — have tax codes so outmoded and inefficient that they need to be redesigned from the bottom up.  A new NCSL report addresses the growing budget problem. Craig Neilson recommends a comparative tax rate study prepared by the Federation of State Tax Administrators. 1:26:52 PM

National Technical Readiness Survey The National Technical Readiness Survey produced by the Robert H. Smith School of Business includes an assessment of eGovernment progress over the past year.  According to the survey, the percent of Americans visiting a government website declined during 2002, while the number who used a government online service increased from 21% to 24%.  Interesting statistics, but I'm not sure that they apply here.  Our numbers continue to grow across the board. 12:36:35 PM

Seismic Activity / Capitol Damage Yesterday, an area of floor tiles on the fourth floor of the Utah State Capitol buckled, with the tiles coming up.  Some wondered if this was the result of seismic activity.  The University of Utah maintains realtime data of earthquakes in the intermountain area and a quick check reveals no significant seismic activity in the Wasatch Front over the previous week.  There was a microquake (0.4), 8 miles northwest of Kamas, on Wednesday afternoon.  The closest significant activity was some earlier tremors north of Tremonton.  So, we look for other causes. The most recent shake map was for an event back on January 2nd centered near Huntsville.  Here are the actual seismogram displays for the area.  UGS has this interesting report on the Wasatch Fault and has a Homebuyers Guide to Earthquake Activity in Utah. 7:34:07 AM

© Copyright 2003 David Fletcher.