Predictive Modeling vs. Lead Hot Spots; California’s DMV Hiring Spree
Chicago is trying to eliminate lead hot spots by using predictive modeling. Mike Red / Shutterstock.com
Also in our State & Local news roundup: A local chicken scandal has forced the resignation of a mayor and city manager.
Here is today’s State & Local news roundup for Monday, October 20, 2014 ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: The city government is trying to use predictive modeling to “identify trouble spots before kids are exposed to dangerous lead levels,” Aviva Rutkin writes at New Scientist. "These models are just the beginning of the use of predictive analytics in public health and we are excited to be at the forefront of these efforts,” Jay Bhatt, the Chicago Department of Public Health’s chief innovation officer, tells New Scientist.
FRESNO, California: The California Department of Motor Vehicles is hiring around 1,000 additional staffers anticipating an influx of customers because of a new state law that will allow undocumented immigrants to apply for a state drivers license, Andrea Castillo of the Fresno Bee reports. The new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013, will authorize the DMV to issue special drivers licenses to undocumented residents starting on Jan. 1, though the ID will not be accepted for federal identification purposes.
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island: Here’s a great idea for local communities with empty billboards: let local artists turn the unused space into a temporary canvas. Bill Van Siclen of the Providence Journal details how Artboards RI will bring art to billboards in new locations every three weeks, starting in Providence and expanding over the next year to other cities like Central Falls and Pawtucket.
When a dispute over chickens upturns the local government ...
TAWAS CITY, Michigan: It’s hard to quickly detail all of the twists and turns of this northeastern Lower Peninsula town’s “Great Chicken Scandal of 2014,” but Francis X. Donnelley of the Detroit News artfully captures the full scope of a totally crazy situation where a young local couple’s “attempt to raise chickens led to their arrest, the resignation of the mayor and city manager, the possible recall of two City Council members, a Michigan State Police investigation and endless chicken jokes.”
DALLAS, Texas: Voters in the Lone Star State will be considering Proposal 1, which supporters say will give the Texas Department of Transportation up to $1.3 billion more a year without the need to raise taxes, building new toll roads or taking on more debt. But as Brandon Formby of the Dallas Morning News reports, even if passed, the proposal won’t fix the state’s transportation financing challenges. The state’s transportation agency still faces a $3.3 billion budget shortfall and state lawmakers may have to make some unpopular decisions.
(Top image via Mike Red / Shutterstock.com; second image by Nataliia Melnychuk / Shutterstock.com)