Miami’s mayor Francis Suarez is trying to attract tech talent to his city. (The New York Times recently noted he’s joined by “a few venture capital influencers trying to tweet the city’s startup world into existence.”) So he’s still pushing a proposal to use bitcoin in a few city operations as “part of a larger play if you will to position…
Tag: city council
Minneapolis Bans Its Police Department From Using Facial Recognition Software
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Minneapolis voted Friday to ban the use of facial recognition software for its police department, growing the list of major cities that have implemented local restrictions on the controversial technology. After an ordinance on the ban was approved earlier this week, 13 members of the city council voted in favor of the ban,…
Andrew Yang Proposes a Local Currency, Sees Growing Support for Universal Basic Income
In March Andrew Yang’s nonprofit gave $1,000 one-time grants to a thousand residents in the Bronx. This week a new article in the New Yorker asks one of those grant recipients how they feel about Yang’s newest proposal as he runs to be New York’s mayor: to give the city’s public-housing residents billions of dollars in a “Borough Bucks” currency that…
Activists Turn Facial Recognition Tools Against the Police
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: In early September, the City Council in Portland, Ore., met virtually to consider sweeping legislation outlawing the use of facial recognition technology. The bills would not only bar the police from using it to unmask protesters and individuals captured in surveillance imagery; they would also prevent companies and a variety…
World’s First Hydrogen Double Deckers Arrive In Aberdeen
The world’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus has been revealed in Aberdeen, a move that demonstrates the city’s commitment to tackling air pollution and implementation of its Net Zero Vision. The Engineer reports: Hydrogen double deckers will now be driven around the city for several weeks during a period of final testing along with training for drivers. The UK’s first hydrogen…
Is Momentum Growing for Universal Basic Incomes?
“A successful basic-income trial in Stockton, California, has inspired a chain of similar pilots in other cities,” reports Business Insider:
The city council of Saint Paul, Minnesota, voted to approve funding for a pilot there on Wednesday. The program is set to begin this fall and will give up to 150 low-income families $500 per month for up to 18 months —…
Portland Passes Groundbreaking Ban on Facial Recognition in Stores, Banks, Restaurants and More
Amid sometimes violent protests and counter-protests around racial justice, this week Portland, Oregon legislators unanimously passed groundbreaking new legislation to ban the use of facial recognition technology, which some see as a victory for civil rights and digital justice. The ban covers use of the technology in both privately owned places as well as by city agencies. From a report: “I…
Portland Approves 10% Cap On Fees That Food Delivery Apps Can Charge Restuarants
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Oregon Live: The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to make it illegal for third-party food delivery services like DoorDash and Grubhub to collect more than 10% in commission fees from city restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic. Portland joins other cities, including Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, that have instituted similar caps in recent…
Even If You’re Trying To Avoid Grubhub By Calling Your Favorite Restaurant Directly, Grubhub Could Still Be Charging It A Fee
Customers trying to avoid online delivery platforms like Grubhub by calling restaurants directly might be dialing phone numbers generated and advertised by those very platforms — for which restaurants are charged fees that can sometimes exceed the income the order generates. BuzzFeed News reports: Here’s how phone fees work: Grubhub (which also owns Seamless, MenuPages, Tapingo, and LevelUp) generates a unique…
Number-Plate Cam Site Had No Password, Spills 8.6 Million Logs of UK Road Journeys
The Register reports that Sheffield City Council’s automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) system exposed to the internet 8.6 million records of road journeys made by thousands of people. From the report: The ANPR camera system’s internal management dashboard could be accessed by simply entering its IP address into a web browser. No login details or authentication of any sort was needed to…