State/Local Security
Supreme Court rules against Chicago gun ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Chicago's ban on handguns, two years after the court's ruling that ended a similar gun ban in Washington....
Arizona law highlights need for reform
By Ed Brock (edward.brock@penton.com)
Love it or hate it, Arizona's new immigration statute draws attention to an issue of great importance to local governments: the need for comprehensive immigration reform....
Arizona stands by immigration law
By Ed Brock (edward.brock@penton.com)
Boycotts and pleas from Congress will not delay statute's implementation....
Show me your green card
American City & County asked the readers of its weekly e-mail newsletter if other states should pass laws similar to the one in Arizona....
Easier For States To Receive Security Grants In 2009
The Department of Homeland Security has plans to dole out $3 billion in counterterrorism grants next year to state and local agencies with far-fewer strings attached than in past years, in a concession to sharply tightening budgets at all levels of government....
Civil Rights Group Sues NYPD Over City Surveillance Plan
A civil rights group sued the New York Police Department seeking to learn more about a plan to use license plate readers and a network of 3,000 surveillance cameras to help protect lower Manhattan from terrorist threats....
Decrease In Anti-Terror Dollars For Cities Across Nation
Dozens of cities will receive less federal money this year than last for anti-terror programs, The Associated Press has reported....
U.S. Cities Test New 911 Text Messaging System
Five cities across the United States are testing a new national 911 system that would allow communications with police and other emergency personnel by text message and take advantage of the latest technology to pinpoint accident scenes....
Making The Leap
By Bruce Walker
The logical and physical access worlds are converging at an ever-increasing rate. One badging standard for physical access and another standard for logical...
California Plans Largest Earthquake Drill In U.S. History
To help prepare Los Angeles and other southern California residents for a major earthquake likely to occur in the next 30 years, Los Angeles city officials are planning the largest earthquake drill in American history, reports the Asian Journal.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa joined local safety officials, community and business leaders, and emergency managers to announce the launch of the Great Southern California ShakeOut campaign.
ShakeOut will take place in November in eight southern California counties....
Terror Expert Warns Nevada, Suggests Security Fundraising
After suggesting that Las Vegas contains the types of entertainment targets considered iconic by terrorists, a retired U.S. general who oversaw military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan told the Nevada Homeland Security Commission on Wednesday that the state must find a way to pay for security resources themselves if federal Homeland security funding is cut to states, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Retired Gen. John Abizaid, a Gardnerville, Nev., resident who was head of the U.S. Central Command from 2003 to 2007, said al-Qaida involvement in a 2002 nightclub bombing that killed more than 200 people in Bali shows that the terrorist group believes strikes on targets symbolic of pleasure can have a particularly paralyzing effect on a country.
"Whether the feds give the money or not, it's a task we have to take on," Abizaid said in urging Nevada’s commission to find a way to continue to fund the "right architecture" of information, intelligence and people to combat possible terrorist efforts in the state....
Arizona Governor Resists Hiring State Guard Units For Border
Gov. Janet Napolitano is balking at putting Arizona National Guard units along the international border at state expense to replace troops from across the nation who are being withdrawn, according to a Capitol Media Services article....
U.S. Builds Networks To Combat Continuing Water Supply Threats
Protecting water supplies always has been a priority for local utilities, but since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a host of natural disasters have reminded communities that terrorists are not the only threats to water systems....
D.C. Council Decides To Block City Surveillance Project
Privacy advocates are applauding the recent decision by a key committee of the District of Columbia Council to eliminate nearly $900,000 in proposed funding for consolidating the operations of 5,200 city surveillance cameras....
Minneapolis Response To Bridge Collapse Emergency Applauded
A new federal report gives Minneapolis generally high marks for its response to the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, but finds room for improvement as well....
Unexpected Crises Spark Opening Of Georgia Training Facility
The tornado that hit downtown Atlanta in March is a prime example of the unexpected crises that demand rapid, seamless and efficient communications among...
New Technology Facilitates Planning For Active Hurricane Season
Following predictions of an above average hurricane season, Applied Science Associates Inc. (ASA), Narragansett, R.I., introduced a computer modeling...
Citizen Watch
By Ashley Roe
In Laguna Beach, a seaside community of approximately 24,000 in southern California, citizens have taken charge of fire prevention and detection. The...
