|
APRIL
13 2004
*
Lake Orion, Mid-Michigan: Families gain online link
to schools
Last fall, Oakland County's Lake Orion High
School began a subscription to the online service known as
Edline. Students and parents get a password and are free to
check student achievement, assignments and attendance.
Several mid-Michigan school districts are using similar
subscription services and say they're proving popular. The
districts include DeWitt, Grand Ledge and Eaton Rapids.
Source: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lsj.com/news/schools/040413_learn_4b.html
*
Kent County: Health Department
unveils emergency information bunker
Kent
County is now better prepared to handle mass casualties or
terror-related attacks thanks to a newly opened medical
coordination center (MCC). The MCC is located underground
and can accommodate up to 30 people in an emergency and is
equipped with cable, satellite, high-speed Internet, a
geographic information system, and electronic monitors that
can display up to four broadcasts at once. It also is
equipped with a 'smart' white board, which allows staff to
update information on a dry-erase style board for all in the
room to access, while still allowing the information to be
downloaded onto the computer system and sent out via e-mail.
Source:
Advance Newspapers, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1081871922210800.xml?advancenewspapers?NEWY
APRIL
14 2004
* Clinton Township: Technology
Department reports big savings
The
department made its first regular report since last
September, when then-IT Director Sandi Petik revised the
township’s information technology plan to cost about $7.2
million from a previous plan of $4.8 million. “I’m
glad to tell you that the wiring for the Civic Center and
the (Senior Center) is complete. We have finished wiring up
with the latest, greatest, you might say, network
cabling,” said Acting IT Director Brian Moynihan.
“We’ve also connected the two buildings with a fiber
optic link, so essentially this whole plaza is now networked
together.” The cost at the time of the board meeting
was about $18,700 for the wiring.
Source: Fraser-Clinton Chronicle, http://www.candgnews.com/editorial/2004/april/14/fraser_clintonchronicle/itplanupdate.html
APRIL
15 2004
* Battle Creek: Students learn
from eSylvan
Nearly 100 Battle Creek youth are getting
after-school, one-on-one tutoring for free. All they need is
a computer, a special headset and support from One Economy
Corp. The organization is helping local kids improve their
math and reading skills through a partnership with eSylvan,
a Web-based version of the face-to-face tutoring services
provided by Sylvan Learning Centers.
Source: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/news/stories/20040415/localnews/233243.html
APRIL
16 2004
* Wayne County: Phone service
helps find missing kids
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans introduced a new
tool designed to help locate children faster after they are
officially listed as missing. The program, called “A Child
is Missing”, requires thousands of automated phone calls
be made to area homes and businesses near the location where
a child was last seen. Department spokesman John Roach said
the new procedure will expedite efforts to find a missing
child. Normally, the first two hours after a child is
reported missing is the most critical in finding the person.
Source:
Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/wayne/0404/16/c03-124587.htm;
Related News:
Press and Guide, http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/041804/loc_20040418020.shtml
*
Center Line: Center Line dispatch center going online
Public safety officers and the dispatchers
coordinating their efforts will be aided by a new,
state-of-the-art dispatching system after it goes online
this week. The new dispatch center, funded in part with a
$150,000 federal grant, will complement in-car computers and
a countywide Law Enforcement Informational Network already
in use in over 40 local departments. The end result will be
an increase in dispatching efficiency, organization and
management. “We’re getting into computer-aided
dispatching. That will tell you who is available, where the
closest car is, or who is on a run and not available,”
Center Line Deputy Director of Public Safety Nicholas Chakur
said.
Source:
Warren Weekly, http://www.candgnews.com/editorial/2003/april/16/warrenweekly/dispatch.html
APRIL
17 2004
*
Flint: Webcast to explore luring young back to Flint
The makings of a 21st Century Renaissance in Flint could be
beginning -- at least that's what Dayne Walling of the Flint
Club is hoping with the help of the Internet. Walling's club
had hoped to get up to 100 people who lived in Flint during
their youth and who now live in cities such as New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Atlanta
to participate online April 20th in a forum at the
International Institute to explore what the area needs to
attract young people. The free event was the last of a
four-part series on the topic.
Source:
Flint Journal, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1082209951280390.xml?fljournal?NEF
APRIL
18 2004
*
Birmingham: New look on line for city Web site
The city's Web site is about to get a $31,000 make over.
Judy Rumps, Internet technology director for the city of
Birmingham, said Birmingham's new site will be up and
running by the end of July. Rumps said users can look
forward easily navigated directories that load fast and
don't stall. Also in mind is a feature called
breadcrumbs that allows visitors to track where they are on
the site, drop down menus, an updateable calendar with
agenda access and a subscription service residents can use
to receive e-mails about road construction, water main
breaks and special events.
Source: Birmingham & Bloomfield Eccentric, http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=29094
*
Southfield: Family histories get new life on Internet
Family history and biography writing gets lots of attention
at the classes offered through the St. Vincent de Paul
Society's Maria Madeline Project. A new round of classes,
paid through a federal grant which established 20 class
sites around metro Detroit, begins May 3. One goal of the
program is to attract disadvantaged youth ages 8-18 to
classes to learn with seniors. But instructor Cynthia Hewett
said the class is open to anyone wanting to learn about
computers and the Internet.
Source:
Southfield Eccentric, http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=29255
*
Benzie County: Center cuts paper, goes electronic
Within seconds, Dr. Richard Nielsen can have a
patient's prescription on its way to any pharmacist in
Benzie County. And they don't have to try and read his
handwriting. Crystal Lake Health Center, with offices
in Frankfort, Benzonia, Bear Lake and Interlochen, has spent
the last year bringing online a new A4 Healthmatics
electronic medical record (EMR) system that is essentially
paperless - no paper charts, no paper files and no
unrecognizable handwritten prescriptions. Nielsen said he
knows of only a handful of health clinics in southeast
Michigan using the systems, but none in northern Michigan.
Source: Traverse City Record Eagle, http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/apr/18benz.htm
*
Flint Township: Enrollment up for Baker's online
classes
Baker College Online continued its double-digit enrollment
growth, as Baker College system officials announced a 32
percent increase in student enrollment for the online winter
quarter 2004 compared to the same period in 2003. A
total of 15,183 students throughout the Baker College system
took online classes this winter quarter.
Source: The Flint Journal, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/108230533732780.xml?fljournal?FTNE
APRIL
19 2004
* Lansing: Businesses become
wireless hot spots
Welcome to the high-tech world of 'Wi-Fi hot spots' -
special areas wired to give those who have equipped laptops
instant Internet access without plugging into a network.
Savvy business owners are catching this technology wave,
using hot spots as promotional features, a way to draw
business and a method for developing customer loyalty.
Source:
Lansing State Journal, http://www.lsj.com/news/business/040419_wifi_1a-6a.html
*
Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Iosco, Isabella, Mecosta,
Missaukee, Montcalm, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Wexford
Counties: Coalition of northern counties works to
upgrade Internet access
The Heart of Michigan
Planning Group, a group of 13 counties, has conducted a
study into broadband Internet connections in northern
Michigan. The HMPG hopes to bring broadband Internet to
everyone, in the business and private sector, and do it more
cheaply by banding together as a consortium. High speed
Internet exists in pockets throughout the 13 counties and
Cadillac Assistant City Manager Precia Garland said the
challenge will be getting broadband into rural areas. The
HMPG suggests counties tackle the cost through the formation
of non-profit community groups that can attract funding.
Source:
Cadillac News, http://www.cadillacnews.com/articles/2004/04/19/news/news01.txt
APRIL
21 2004
*
Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township: Local
history posted on Web
Residents
in Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township, or anyone with
Internet access, can read up on some local history this
September. “Bloomfield Blossoms,” the
first book on the history of Bloomfield Township and
Bloomfield Hills, will be digitized and placed on a Web site
called “The Making of Modern Michigan.” “Around
51 libraries from all over the state have contributed to
this collection; 41 of those libraries received incentive
grants, and we contacted the other participants,” said
Ruth Ann Jones, assistant head of the digital and multimedia
center at Michigan State University Libraries. The goal is
to create an online collection of Michigan history and to
train small libraries in digitization.
Source:
Troy Times, http://www.candgnews.com/editorial/2004/april/21/birminghameagle/digitize.html
*
Dearborn: Wireless at HFCC (Henry Ford Community
College)
Henry Ford Community College students can now get
'unplugged' and be connected to free wireless Internet
service on HFCC's main campus in Dearborn. The campus
wireless network has been made possible by a generous grant
from the HFCC Foundation, which raises money from private
sources for scholarships and other projects that benefit
HFCC's students.
Source:
Press and Guide, http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/042104/loc_20040421021.shtml
APRIL
22 2004
* Redford: Teachers' grade
books may go online
South Redford parents want easy access and open
communication with their children's teachers. According to a
recent community survey completed by Judy Considine, public
information director for the district, parents want more
communication with teachers - by phone, by direct
e-mail access and by teachers' own Web sites. The district
is answering that request by offering workshops to show
teachers how to set up their own Web sites. Some have
already created a site for information on the class, current
events and assignments.
Source: Redford Observer, http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=29793
*
Holland: City approves start of
wireless system project
On
Wednesday, the City Council approved letting the Board of
Public Works invest $7,500 on equipment to create a wireless
network in downtown Holland. The proposed wireless system
would be developed in partnership with the city, the
downtown development authority and local private interests.
But officials decline to the give the name of the private
businesses involved in the project, saying the details
haven't been finalized yet.
Source:
Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/108264712287560.xml?grpress?NELK;
Related story: Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/108212726957900.xml?grpress?NELK
APRIL
24 2004
* Battle Creek (Lakeview Schools):
Tech director gets top honors
On Friday, Lakeview School District's first-ever
technology director, Dale Bartow, received the Technology
Coordinator Award of Excellence from the Michigan
Association for Computer Users in Learning. Two-and-a-half
years ago, Lakeview's schools were not connected to one
another through a wide-area computer network, there wasn't
districtwide high-speed Internet access and teachers and
staff had limited training and support. Now, the district
has all of the above and more, including wireless Internet
access.
Source:
Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/news/stories/20040424/localnews/285482.html
APRIL
25 2004
*
Mid-Michigan: Area computer crimes task force digs
out those who prey on children
FBI administrators this year announced the dawning
of the age of cybercrime, listing counterterrorism and
computer crime as the No. 1 and No. 2 priorities for local
offices nationwide, said Walter H. Reynolds, supervisory
senior resident in charge of the FBI office in Bay City.
Reynolds' office in Bay City is headquarters for the
Mid-Michigan Area Computer Crimes Task Force. The team
includes investigators from the FBI, Secret Service, Saginaw
County Sheriff's Department and state police. The six
members of the task force have only seen their case load
grow heavier since officials formed the unit earlier this
year, and the addition of two state police troopers with
computer training still won't make a dent, Reynolds worries.
Source:
Bay City Times, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1082888166183330.xml?bctimes?NEB
APRIL
26 2004
*
Northeastern Lower Peninsula: Grant will help faster
Internet spread north
The Michigan Broadband Development Authority
announced April 22 that it will make a loan to M-33 Access,
a wireless Internet provider based in Rose City, to make
high-speed Internet service available in most of the
northeastern Lower Peninsula. M-33 Access will use the loan
to build a system of transmission towers to serve an area
roughly bordered by highway M-55 to the south, highway M-32
to the north and Interstate 75 to the west. Kirtland
Community College and a consortium of local school districts
in the region will be the first customers of the new
broadband service. The schools are expected to have the
service operating by July 1, while businesses and homeowners
in the region will have access to the wireless system within
a year, according to Bruce Bischoff, a spokesman for M-33
Access.
Source: Bay City Times, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1082992599260570.xml?bctimes?NENE
|
