Tribune News Service

School districts in the Sacramento area are ramping up the distribution of essential technology to households as formal "distance learning" programs are close to launching for tens of thousands of students.

The state’s second most populous city isn’t reprioritizing code enforcement cases — but rather, preparing to change how residents can report them.

The technology directives are sweeping: Superior courts can use available video, audio and telephone for remote appearances, court reporting and interpreting in proceedings.

Vallejo has approved an agreement with KeyE Corp. for its police department to use a cellular site simulator, a device that masquerades as a cell tower.

The Los Angeles City Council canceled its last two meetings in March last week, as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gathered strength. Now, having tested remote dial-in, the council will hold an emergency meeting Friday.

A spokesperson for the Employment Development Department said the agency has been working to update its current systems for some time.

One council member said the decision was "incredibly frustrating," and said he'd go to a meeting "with a mask or gown or whatever we need, or I’m perfectly willing to do it remotely.”

The Marin County seat is in the early stages of work aimed at connecting residents to city council meetings, while gatherings are limited due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The shareable bike and e-scooter company, which has its heaviest local presence in the Bay Area, said it would be “pausing” in California, Washington state and three European countries. It’s unclear when service will resume.

Ardent Cyber Solutions alleges that Mayor Eric Garcetti personally ordered its contract canceled as a "retaliatory measure" after Ardent alerted officials to the physical and cybersecurity problems within the Department of Water and Power.

"The technology has gone from fourth-grade technology to graduate school-level technology," said election law professor Richard L. Hasen of UC Irvine.

The Data Hub will house classrooms and offices and also may include robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories, research centers, public gathering areas and a large auditorium.

In his second State of the State address, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s one nod to tech and innovation was mention of a “unified homelessness data system.” But advocates and experts say making it work will require a monumental degree of clean data as well as state and local collaboration.

Some see plans to rebuild a cellphone antenna site in San Anselmo, Calif., as a gateway to 5G and adding more antennas, which the provider has said will not happen. Others have health concerns.

Six of nine companies from China scheduled to participate in the conference had canceled due to travel restrictions from China, and the remaining three will have booths staffed with U.S. workers.

UC San Diego's student government has joined those pushing back against the city's use of camera-equipped streetlights, and has submitted a list of demands its members hope will increase transparency about the technology's impact on privacy and public safety.

Ring, the Amazon-owned home security company known for its so-called "video doorbells," has watchdogs worried those cameras are intruding on residents' privacy without their knowledge or consent.

Auditor Elaine Howle has found that the police departments in Los Angeles and Fresno and sheriff's offices in Marin and Sacramento counties have not fully implemented a 2016 state law designed to protect privacy.

City officials were right to suspend the company's permit to rent out scooters and electric bicycles in the city because the company refused to share real-time data on its riders’ trips, a hearing officer has found.

"We are very concerned. We are doing everything in our power to drive awareness. We have pivoted from awareness to give a nudge, trying to get people to take action," says the department's director, Steve Gordon.

When the computers of the city of Lodi got hit by a ransomware attack last April, the strike disabled phone lines, forced police officers to write reports by hand and prevented workers from sending out utility bills.

DMV lines grew unbearably long — and appointments tougher to get — as wait times soared past six hours. Lawmakers demanded reform at the DMV, which increased staffing, opened earlier and added Saturday hours. Despite those efforts, the earliest appointment is typically three months away.

In a letter to the state attorney general, five ad-sector trade groups said businesses need more time to get in compliance.

Members of the city committee also called for input from the public during the process.

Adjusted for the Bay Area’s high cost of living, STEM workers in the San Francisco metro area make $58,100 a year, better only than pricey Honolulu among the 100 biggest metros in the country. In San Jose, they make a cost-adjusted wage of about $65,200, the 88th-worst.