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HEADLINES
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down to find summaries and links to the articles
JULY 20
- JULY 26
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Grand Rapids: Residents will now see where
their money goes on tax bills
*
Southeast Michigan: Hospitals take steps to
cut medical costs
*
Jackson County: Most schools are keeping
state-issued computers
*
Allegan County: Allegan is first to share
use of state radio tower
*
Dearborn: City Web site redesigned
*
Macomb County: Election finance reports
online
*
Oakland County: Cyber City Tours promote
Oakland
*
Monroe County: Sheriff begins Web site to
report minor offenses
*
Hudson: Wireless Internet proposed for
Hudson; signal may reach Clayton
*
Jackson (Vandercook Lake Schools): Vandy Web
site evolving
*
Midland: Government has plan to modernize
medical records
JULY
27 - AUGUST 2
*
Livingston County: Students
participate in virtual simulation camp
*
Statewide: Michigan
joins network to swap environmental data
*
Madison Heights:
Madison Heights Web site ranks among state’s top 10
*
White Pigeon, St. Joseph County: Bringing
broadband beyond big towns
*
Grand Haven: GH
becomes nation's first completely wireless Web city
*
Utica: Software grant
supports innovative education programs in UCS
*
Oakland County: Oakland
County to take tax payments via Internet
*
Bedford Township: Township
Web site named No. 8 in state
*
Rockford: City puts
tax data online
*
Taylor: System speeds
search of missing
*
Tawas: Tawas hospital
allows patients to spread the word through e-mail
*
Genesee County: Clerks
predict triumph for new vote scanners
*
Marquette County: Optical
scan used for voting Tuesday
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JULY 20
2004
* Grand Rapids: Residents will
now see where their money goes on tax bills
Grand Rapids residents may have not received a
break on property tax bills sent out earlier this month, but
they can at least see a breakdown of where their money is
going. Earlier this year the city implemented a new billing
software system that includes a breakdown on the bill of
where the money is directed. The Equalizer software is able
to completely maintain the city's tax roll, automatically
calculate interest and penalties, accept full or partial
payments, enter separate sets of millage rates, and maintain
a history file to access years of tax history. City
Treasurer Albert Mooney said the system allows officials to
post payments on the system and give more information on the
bill, like the home's taxable value, the impact of Proposal
A, a breakdown of taxing levies and where their money goes,
like library and refuse funds. The system even shows the
earliest payment of a customer, even hours after it's
received.
Source: Advance Newspapers, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1090435985100550.xml?advancenewspapers?NEN
*
Southeast Michigan: Hospitals take steps to cut
medical costs
Smart IV systems, computerized drug dispensing and
other methods are being used to eliminate errors. St. Joseph
Mercy Health System has adopted SMART Infusion Technology to
eliminate errors in administered intravenous solutions. In
many hospitals, pharmacies prepare IV solutions and deliver
them to the patient unit. The nurse hangs the IV bag and
must program in dose rates and other information on a touch
pad. If an error occurs in entering any of the data, the
medication could be administered incorrectly. With
SMART technology, the same process begins, but if the nurse
enters a rate outside the predefined parameters for
administering the drug, a warning appears on the screen.
At Oakwood Southshore Medical Center in Trenton, Eric G.
Munson, pharmacy director, says technology also is being
applied to avoid confusion. 'Our pharmacy computer system is
enabled to display critical alerts that prompt our
pharmacists to review circumstances before a physician order
is verified. Our system is capable of alerting us when a
patient has a potential allergy to a medication, a potential
drug interaction, warns us if the patient is greater than 65
or less than 18 years of age, and requires a second patient
identifier before an order can be entered by the
pharmacist,' he said.
Source: Monroe Evening News, http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2004/07/20/your_health/health01.txt
*
Jackson County: Most schools are keeping state-issued
computers
Jackson Public Schools is the only Jackson County district
that's decided to sell state-issued laptop computers to
teachers. The computers were given to classroom teachers
statewide three years ago through the $110 million Teacher
Technology Initiative under former Gov. John Engler. With
the ending of the program this spring, districts became free
to do whatever they wanted with the aging laptops. Most
opted to keep the equipment in the classrooms, despite the
responsibility of maintaining it since the warranty expired
along with the program. Jackson Public Schools gave teachers
the option to buy the laptops for $150.
Source: Jackson Citizen Patriot, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1090339638178760.xml?jacitpat?NEJ,
Related story regarding Saginaw County schools: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-11/10905078905660.xml?sanews?NECN
JULY
21 2004
* Allegan County: Allegan is
first to share use of state radio tower
A recent deal with the state — the first of its
kind — spares the county the need for what one official
calls another “metal monstrosity.” Allegan County will
hang its own law enforcement communications equipment on a
State Police radio tower, saving taxpayers the more than $1
million it would cost to build a new tower. The arrangement
is what local law enforcement agencies had in mind after
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed an executive order 15 months
ago allowing them to mount transmitters on the state’s 182
towers.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0407/21/b06-218147.htm
*
Dearborn: City Web site redesigned
The city of Dearborn's official Web site – www.cityofdearborn.org
– has a new look, offers new features and is even easier
to use. 'For many people in Dearborn, the web site is
a key information resource,' said Doug Feldkamp, director of
the city's Management of Information Systems Department.
'They visit it regularly to check everything from events
planned for the Homecoming festival, to the hours of our
libraries and public pools, and even to print out online
permit applications. The new changes to the Web site now
make it even easier for people to navigate the site to find
the information they're looking for.' The Web site features
a new, more modern and clean look, and has been reorganized
to be more user-friendly for visitors. One of the most
significant new features of the site is that almost all
sections of the web site are now accessible by those living
with disabilities.
Source: Press and Guide, http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/072104/loc_20040721037.shtml
JULY
22 2004
* Macomb County: Election
finance reports online
Macomb County residents won’t have to leave their
house to check election campaign finance reports of county
politicians. The Macomb County Clerk’s office will start
displaying campaign finance reports on the Internet at 5:01
p.m. Friday, one minute after the filing deadline for
candidates running in the Aug. 3 primary. Clerk
Carmella Sabaugh said finance reports of all local and
county candidates will be on the county clerk Web site.
Finance reports of judicial candidates, state
representatives and senator candidates are on the state Web
site.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0407/22/b05-219490.htm
*
Oakland County: Cyber City Tours promote Oakland
Soon, taking a trip through this Oakland County
city’s downtown will be as simple as striking a couple of
keys on a computer. County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and
other officials have unveiled a new high-tech program that
will transform Oakland County downtowns and districts into a
world of virtual reality. The county is partnering with
Royal Oak-based Virtualeyes, the creator of Cyber City
Tours, to give Oakland County residents the ability to take
virtual tours of downtown areas and businesses from the
comfort of their homes. The Cyber City Tours program is an
extension of the county’s Main Street program, which was
designed to infuse life into historic businesses districts.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0407/22/b04-219512.htm,
Related story: http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/072104/loc_20040721050.shtml
*
Monroe County: Sheriff begins Web site to report
minor offenses
County residents who are victims of minor criminal offenses
can now expedite the process of reporting the crimes by
doing it themselves online. The Web site, which officially
launched Wednesday, was developed as a joint effort between
the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the Monroe County
Information Technology Department. Peggy Tyniw, of the
county IT department, designed the site. Online reporting
allows citizens to access an online form to report six types
of crimes: identity theft, larceny (theft), lost property,
lost or stolen license plates, malicious destruction of
property (vandalism) and private property traffic crashes
where no injury has occurred.
Source: Monroe Evening News, http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2004/07/22/news/news03.txt
JULY
23 2004
* Hudson: Wireless Internet
proposed for Hudson; signal may reach Clayton
Ron Wallace, owner of New Generation Network in
Addison, is in the beginning stages of providing wireless
Internet service to the city of Hudson. Hudson City Manager
Bruce Van Wieren said he is supportive of the project and
thinks it would benefit the businesses in Hudson. In
exchange for free wireless Internet installation at City
Hall, the Department of Public Works, police and fire
departments, the public library and Sacred Heart School,
city officials have granted Wallace use of their water tower
for the central antenna necessary for wireless installation,
Wallace said. City Clerk Kimberly Murphy said the city will
allow Wallace to use the water tower, but he will not
possess exclusive rights to the tower.
Source: Lenawee Connection, http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2004/07/23/news/news03.txt
JULY
24 2004
* Jackson (Vandercook Lake Schools): Vandy
Web site evolving
When it comes to Web sites, having pertinent
information available is more important than being flashy,
says Vandercook Lake Schools technology director Phil
Garrison. Garrison has spent the past few years developing
the district's site, and has made several changes for the
upcoming school year. But don't expect him to get too
'slick,' as he put it. The site's appearance is attractive
but plain.
Source: The Jackson Citizen Patriot, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1090663599201290.xml?jacitpat?NECE
JULY
26 2004
* Midland: Government has plan
to modernize medical records
As the government makes long-term plans to
modernize the nation's health care system with information
technology, bringing patient records and prescriptions out
of the realm of ink and paper and into the computer age,
MidMichigan Medical Center's staff is trying to decide where
to start in the same process. 'The bulk of everything in
hospitals is now on paper,' said Carol Jaeger, the Midland
hospital's director of health information services. 'You've
got to pass the paper from this person to that person.'
One reason why computerization has gone more slowly in the
health care industry than, say, banking, is so many
facilities will have to be brought together, Jaeger said.
Now, hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics and urgent care
facilities often keep records in different ways.
Source: Midland Daily News, http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12483340&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=8&xb=xeyaf&xb=fuvib
JULY
27 2004
* Livingston County: Students
participate in virtual simulation camp
Students from around the county are bridging the
gap between what-could-be and what-is at Livingston Regional
M-TEC in Howell Township. The second annual Virtual
Simulation Camp continues this week at M-TEC. The week long
summer camp gives students a glimpse into the world of
state-of-the-art simulation software used by product
designers. Students familiarize themselves with the software
by designing a project on the screen before building it.
Source: Daily Press and Argus, http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=43158
JULY
28 2004
* Statewide: Michigan joins
network to swap environmental data
It sounds positively medieval in the computer age:
submitting handwritten reports to the government. Yet that
was how hundreds of businesses and agencies in Michigan
prepared monthly wastewater discharge reports — until the
state began using a new online system designed to rescue
environmental data collection from the technological Dark
Ages. No more. Michigan has joined the National
Environmental Information Exchange Network, a newly formed
system that makes it easier for government workers to
compile, submit and swap data collected under federal air
and water pollution laws. In Michigan, Mike Beaulac,
assistant administrator with the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality, estimates the change will save the
DEQ $250,000 to $500,000 a year, mostly in reduced staff
time. It is already paying off in Kalamazoo, where Bruce
Merchant, wastewater superintendent for Kalamazoo, said the
monthly reporting chore now takes about half a day of staff
time instead of two or three days.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0407/28/c08-224898.htm
*
Madison Heights: Madison Heights Web site ranks among
state’s top 10
The city of Madison Heights was recently ranked in
the top 10 of municipal Web sites in the fourth annual
assessment of local government sites conducted by cyber-state.org,
a non-partisan, nonprofit organization. Based on the 2004
Web site Attribute Evaluation System, Madison Heights
received a score of 38 out of 45, tying with the city of
Novi’s site for fifth best overall. Residents who
frequently use the site can attest to the quality of this
resource. Lee Hasho, member of the library advisory board
and charter commission board, has been a resident of Madison
Heights for 43 years, and says she uses the site frequently.
“It just keeps getting better and better,” said Hasho,
who admits she’s only become computer literate in the past
few years. “If I can’t make it to the City Council
meeting, I can go in and read the minutes right online. I
can connect right to the library, my sons have gone on for
job applications, and there’s applications to serve on any
of the volunteer boards,” she said, highlighting a few of
the features that she uses.
Source: Madison Park News, http://www.candgnews.com/editorial/2004/july/28/madison_parknews/web%20site.html
JULY
29 2004
* White Pigeon, St. Joseph County: Bringing
broadband beyond big towns
Who in White Pigeon, deep in southern
St. Joseph County, would want broadband Internet and
voice-over Internet phone service? More people than the
rural community’s size might suggest. Four days after
Rural Communications offered wireless broadband services to
the former customers of Internet Access Plus, a dial-up
Internet service provider, 25 to 30 customers had bought
high-speed links, Rural Communications president and CEO
Gerald Ludwick said. Given the small population base, he did
not expect that pace to continue long. But he understood the
eagerness to get started. “White Pigeon needs broadband
for the same reasons you need it,” Ludwick said.
Source: Business Direct Weekly, http://www.mlive.com/businessdirect/businessdirect/west/index.ssf?/businessdirect/west/stories/20040729broadband.html
JULY
30 2004
* Grand Haven: GH becomes
nation's first completely wireless Web city
Grand Haven was expected today to become the first city in
the country, perhaps the world, to be completely covered by
new wireless Internet technology. 'We look forward to it
being available throughout the county and eventually the
state,' Grand Haven Mayor Roger Bergman said. 'We have
created a true 21st century telecommunications platform and
a model for its roll-out everywhere.' Ottawa Wireless
Inc. announced today that it has completed its WiFi
(wireless fidelity) network in the city, giving access to
every residence and business within the city limits.
Source: Grand Haven Tribune, http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/16085680260705.bsp;
Related Story - Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1091198940106200.xml?grpress?NELK
*
Utica: Software grant supports innovative education
programs in UCS
UGS PLM Solutions, the product lifecycle management
subsidiary of EDS, recently announced it is providing a PLM
software grant with a commercial value of $8.9 million to
the Utica Community Schools district. The PLM software will
be used by the UCS Career and Technical Education Department
to provide project-based education that reflects real-life
product design and development challenges. Student teams
will simulate actual industry practice by collaboratively
designing, building and assessing products using the same
PLM software and methodologies employed by today's leading
global manufacturers. We are excited by the opportunities
this grant offers,' said UCS CTE Director Pamela Schaffer.
'Utica Community Schools is located in the heart of
engineering country. By providing access to the same
software tools used by the companies that surround us, we
will be able to give students the technical skills and
process knowledge that will prepare them for eventual
employment by top companies, locally and globally.'
Source: Source Newspapers, http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2004/07/30/schools/schools4.txt
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Oakland County: Oakland County to take tax payments
via Internet
Thousands of Oakland County homeowners will be able to pay
their property taxes online with credit cards, starting with
this summer’s bills. A system put in place to help
delinquent taxpayers take care of tax bills on the Web has
been expanded to include all taxpayers. Seventeen Oakland
County communities will have the service in August.
Officials say it will be ready in time for taxpayers to use
it to pay their summer taxes, which were sent this month and
are due Sept. 1.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/oakland/0407/30/d04-227262.htm,
Related story - Oakland Press: http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/072304/loc_20040723045.shtml
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Bedford Township: Township Web site named No. 8 in
state
Bedford Township has the eighth best township Web
site in the state, according to cyber-state.org. “It’s
pretty impressive,” said township planner Dennis Jenkins,
who oversees the day-to-day operation of Bedford
Township’s Web site. “It says we’re providing the
public with a lot of the information they find useful.”
Supervisor R. Lamar Frederick offered Jenkins kudos for the
state recognition at the last township board meeting.
Source: BedfordNow, http://www.bedfordnow.com/headlines/headline5/10191464.cfm
JULY
31 2004
* Rockford: City puts tax data
online
Rockford landowners now can check their tax data and payment
history online. A link to updated property tax information
recently was posted on the city's Web site. Residents -- and
real estate professionals who frequently call City Hall with
questions -- can get the latest tax statistics for a
particular parcel by visiting www.rockford.mi.us.
'It makes it a lot easier for title companies and Realtors,
homeowners and appraisers,' City Treasurer Kim McKay said.
'They don't have to stop in the office. They can do it on
their own time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.'
Source: Grand Press: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1091269046207340.xml?grpress?NEG
AUG
2 2004
* Taylor: System speeds search
of missing
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department has
obtained a high-tech system that can immediately dial up to
1,000 phone numbers within a radius of where a missing child
was last seen — with a message for neighbors and local
businesses to be on the lookout for him. The system uses
computer-mapping technology, satellite imagery and a
national database of 45 million telephone numbers. Numbers
are speed-dialed within 60 seconds. Wayne is the first
county in southeast Michigan to adopt
such a program. But a handful of Metro Detroit
municipalities, including Canton Township, Novi and Pontiac,
already have similar systems.
Source: Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0408/02/c01-229284.htm
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Tawas: Tawas hospital allows patients to spread the
word through e-mail
People recovering from knee or hip surgery at Tawas
St. Joseph Hospital can now use e-mail to contact friends
and family. 'They can send one e-mail message to everyone
they want to notify, and tell them about their surgery and
how they are feeling,' said Michael Kapusta, a spokesman for
St. Joseph Health System. The new e-mail service began this
month at the St. Joseph Joint Replacement Center. Patients
are given temporary accounts that are deleted when they are
discharged, Kapusta said. The health system plans to make
e-mail available soon to anyone receiving inpatient
services, Kapusta said. The health system is also setting up
an online billing service so people can make payments from
their home computer for services provided by the health
system, according to Kelley Edmonds, director of patient
financial services.
Source: Bay City Times, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1091461524275650.xml?bctimes?NENE
*
Genesee County: Clerks predict triumph for new vote
scanners
Love is a strong word, but local clerks are
expecting Tuesday's primary - the first election in the
county with all voters using the optical scanners - to go
well based on testing and training sessions. In Genesee
Township, Clerk Charles Marshall set up test balloting three
days last week, and nearly 200 people - many of them
skeptical senior citizens - gave it a try. Everybody likes
it,' Marshall said. 'They are expecting having to work with
a computer,' but they don't. Up to 15 percent of ballots
have been thrown out in previous primaries because of
crossover voters - those who tried to vote for both
Republicans and Democrats. Election officials don't
expect anywhere near that percentage to be spoiled Tuesday,
thanks to the new technology.
Source: Flint Journal, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1091460390222900.xml?fljournal?NEF
*
Marquette County: Optical scan used for voting
Tuesday
Marquette County Clerk Connie Branam, with funding
through the federal Help America Vote Act, has standardized
voting technology across the county and voters in nine
jurisdictions will see some changes when they go to the
polls Tuesday. All of the county's 35 precincts now use the
optical scan AccuVote system in which voters fill in a
circle next to their choice and feed the form into a machine
that tabulates the results. Voters won't be the only ones
using new technology Tuesday. The recent upgrades also
include a system by which the results from each precinct are
uploaded via phone line to a computer in Branam's office
after the polls close.
Source: The Mining Journal, http://www.miningjournal.net/news/story/082202004_new02-n0802.asp
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