There have been several recent high-profile ransomware attacks that have cost Florida local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they are becoming more common. To help combat these attacks, the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association (FLGISA) is offering multiple webinars over the next few weeks to discuss ransomware. The in-depth training will include…
Your downtown experience just got a little brighter. Recently, the City of Tallahassee, along with the Downtown Improvement Authority, LeMoyne Arts, KCCI and the “Girls Can Do Anything” campers from the Oasis Center for Women and Girls, covered up a retaining wall with a colorful art mural. The once bland wall at the downtown Food…
Aileron Investment Management (“Aileron”) announced today that it is opening Phase 1 of its Grand Central Apartments (“Grand Central”), a 280-unit class A apartment community in Fort Myers, FL. Phase 1 consists of 104 resident units, clubhouse and pool, which will open for occupancy within the next 30 days. The complex will be fully complete…
Gainesville’s attorney recommended that commissioners rescind its plastic-bag and Styrofoam ban. Gainesville commissioners rejected their city attorney’s recommendation Thursday to rescind an ordinance that bans businesses from giving out single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam containers. The ban, which has been discussed for nearly a year, will take effect in January 2020. The 5-1 decision on…
Within the same week in June 2019, two Florida towns fell victim to ransomware and paid a little over $1 million to hackers to retrieve their data and regain control of their servers. “I would’ve never dreamed this could’ve happened, especially in a small town like this,” said the mayor of Lake City, one of the two…
The City of Coral Gables has the largest municipal fleet of electric vehicles (EV) in the state of Florida. The City currently has 51 electric vehicles with a goal of adding 20 more by 2021. During the recent Climate Mayors Summit in Honolulu, HI, Coral Gables was one of 127 cities and 15 counties from…
Mexico Beach was ground zero for Hurricane Michael, destroying 70 percent of the resort community’s homes and businesses with its Category 5 winds and 18-foot storm surge. Because its flood maps hadn’t been updated in 10 years, 80 percent of those structures were uninsured because FEMA placed them in flood zone “X” – areas that…
Big cities and big data tend to get most of the attention in publications and on industry panels. Rapid urbanization and the explosion of data are headlining trends. In reality, however, the United States is a nation of small towns. According to Census Bureau information, the median American lives in a city with a population…
No one enjoys paying for parking tickets, but Las Vegas is now accepting a new currency that might take some of the sting out of paying the fines. The Las Vegas City Council has approved a month-long plan that allows parking tickets to be paid by donating school supplies, according to a press release from…
When the city of Columbus, Ohio, submitted its bid to become Amazon’s HQ2, city officials rolled out the usual fanfare: an assortment of tax incentives, promotion of its major educational institutions and real estate deals. But the hallmark of its proposal was a pitch to create a smart city by “embracing the reinvention of transportation…
Walking through the streets of New York City, you can feel the thrill of being lost in the crowd. As throngs of people filter past, each going about their days, it seems possible to blend in without being noticed. But as municipalities and companies pursue the dream of “smart cities,” creating hyper-connected urban spaces designed…
Local governments face a number of challenges when determining how to best deliver services to their communities. With fiscal stress, environmental concerns, and state policies affecting local government resource allocation, many leaders face decisions about the tools they use to address service delivery. “Pragmatic local government managers seek to maintain services and continue to serve…
“More likely than not, your elected officials are basing mobility policy decisions not on cost-benefit analysis or strategic foresight, but on a classic modern insecurity: FOMO.” That’s David Zipper’s theory, explained in an article for CityLab. When transportation decision makers start make the FOMO mistake, cities get saddled with expensive demonstration projects for autonomous vehicles…
A natural disaster may be the very worst thing that happens to a county and to its elected officials. A community or portions of it are ruined and everyone looks to the elected and appointed leadership to make things right, and make things right, right now. No matter what has happened in the community before…
Dozens of cities and counties from across the nation pledged to purchasing hundreds of electric vehicles and buses by the end of 2020. The Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative announced that 142 cities and counties from 38 states have committed to purchasing more than 2,100 EVs by the end of next year. The collaborative…
On sunny days, the Grand Venezia at Baywatch condominiums offer a view of Old Tampa Bay that calms the mind. “It’s just gorgeous,” resident Don Dwyer said recently. “One morning I sat on my balcony for two hours. I saw five manatees, 12 dolphins and I can’t tell you how many stingrays.” But the history…
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties officials to take advantage of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resources to bolster cybersecurity efforts. Rubio recently forwarded correspondence to both organizations in response to reports two Florida cities used taxpayer funds to pay cybercriminals following ransomware attacks, officials said,…
Miami Beach is once again opening its wait list for affordable housing — but residents will have to act fast. From now until Friday, July 5, residents will have a chance to get a spot on the city’s wait list for affordable housing properties with studio apartments. They can apply online, not in person. This…
To be a code compliance officer requires a couple of key qualities — a sense of humor and a working knowledge of each and every code in the city of Destin. But to David Bazylak, a sense of humor might be most important. “It’s a complaint-driven type of profession,” Bazylak, who has worked in code…
Since its inception in 1984, the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has worked diligently to make the District’s waterfront more accessible to everyone. One of its newest initiatives on this front is the equipment slated for the Riviera Beach Marina Village that is designed to assist visitors who may find it challenging to navigate…
City leaders now have two new opportunities to help ensure their residents live in healthy housing free of indoor environmental hazards, including a $1 million minimum grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a technical assistance initiative from the National League of Cities (NLC). By placing a priority on…