Remote participation options for public meetings have been a
breakthrough in facilitating public engagement in local governing
boards. For many working parents, people with disabilities, or
simply those whose lives make it difficult to carve out the time
to attend a meeting in person, remote participation in public
meetings has allowed them to engage in their community decisions
for the first time. However, the tool has been challenged by some
alarming trends.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues! The Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), and the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) recently approved California’s initial
State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) Cybersecurity
Plan.
A little more than a month after the grant application period
opened, the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration recently announced having made grant awards of
$3.5 million across seven trial entities nation-wide for the
Internet For All initiative’s
Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. The Awardees are
located in New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington.
Let’s get funding to California!
Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (U.S. Treasury)
released an
interim final rule that provides counties additional
flexibility to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for
transportation and infrastructure projects, relief from natural
disasters that have already occurred, projects to mitigate the
risk of natural disasters, and eligible projects under the
Community Development Block Grant program.
During an offsite meeting in Monterey July 17-19, the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) Board of
Administration approved increased health plan premiums (with a
6-5 split vote), beginning in January 2024.
