State / Local

New Mexico's new driver's license
The state’s new licenses are several steps closer to what the Patriot Act will require in the way of approved identification
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Shake-up at the top of New York State's homeland security office
David Sheppard, acting director of New York State Office of Homeland Security who was appointed by former governor George Pataki, resigned last week, signaling further consolidation of power by Michael Balboni, the state’s homeland security czar
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September to be U.S. National Preparedness Month
DHS says that more than 1,200 national, regional, state, and local businesses and organizations have pledged their support for the department’s initiative
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House appropriators approve DHS spending bill
House panel approves a $39.9 billion budget for DHS for FY 2009, about $2.3 billion more than the administration proposed; bill would boost funding for popular state and local homeland security grant programs
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IBM joins Next Generation Identification (NGI) system team
NGI, the FBI’s new multi-modal, state-of-the-art biometrics system to be used by state, local, and federal authorities, will store fingerprints, palm prints, iris, and facial recognition information; it will accommodate other biometric modalities as they mature
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Maryland leaders worry about shift in DHS priorities after elections
Because of its proximity to the nation’s capital, the Baltimore metro area and Washington suburbs are particularly vulnerable to terrorist activity, Maryland leaders say; they want attention to security increased, not decreased
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Opponnents say Social Security is not the way to track illegal immigrants
Opponents of DHS’s tightening of no-match rule say this is not a good way to control illegal immigration; AFL-CIO estimates that 600,000 of its workers could be vulnerable to firing
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Two companies partner on public-safety computer-aided dispatch
The technology of dispatching law enforcement quickly to disaster zones is a growing business, and two specialists will market their solutions jointly to U.S. localities
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DHS to fund local police counterterrorism squads
Chertoff said DHS would pay the salaries of counterterrorism officers
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Fusion centers do not focus on mission
CRS says the terrorism intelligence fusion centers, funded in part by DHS’s $380 million, are doing other things
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States fail to use post-9/11 grants
Since 9/11, the federal government has allocated $16.04 billion in grants to states; trouble is, to date almost $5 billion of it has not been spent
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TB victim receives TV
Facing a life of civil commitment, Russian-born Arizonan earns his creature comforts
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DHS to award $33.7 million in local first responder grants
Funds can be used for a host of different products, including IT, thermal imaging, and video surveillance; applications due 29 May
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State incubators see growth in the first responder market
Local technology initiatives take off nationwide, with planners attracted by low start up costs and big payoffs; South Carolina sees $14 in local economic activity for every dollar invested
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Attensity named a finalist for Red Herring's 100 Award
Nomination comes as company announces a deal to supply unstructured text management software to Virginia’s Chesterfield County Police Department
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