National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.            Vol. 31, No. 12 * June 21, 1999

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Access Local Government
A technology partnership between NACo, the National League of Cities, the International City/County Management Association and Public Technology Inc., called Access Local Government, is available to local officials.
At http://www.algov.org, it includes message boards where you can interact with other officials and libraries full of the latest local government issues on a wide range of topics.

Schuylkill County, Pa. teams up to create public safety site
In Schuylkill County, Pa., the Emergency Management Agency and the Local Emergency Planning Committee have created a Web site that provides public safety information on the two agencies and their training, communications and other programs.
The site will come in handy. Along with hazardous materials incidents, in the past several years the county has experienced flash floods, droughts, tornadoes and severe winter storms.
The Web site – http://www.scema.org/ – provides manuals and links to the American Red Cross. Plans call for a training page, another about 911 and a communications center.

Fairfax County used Internet, GIS technology during disaster
When a truck carrying explosives recently overturned on the main north/south route through the eastern United States, Fairfax County government in Virginia used the Internet and GIS technology to help cope with the problem.
The county, beginning its fourth year with a presence on the Internet, used its site to relay critical road-closing information prior to the morning rush hour. Anyone logging onto www.co.fairfax.va.us would have found a traffic alert flashing across the top of the homepage. Links took computer users to detailed traffic information as well as route changes and the status of bus routes.
GIS technology was used to map out the area around the disaster, assisting in identifying homes and businesses for a door-to-door evacuation notice.
Other types of emergency information that has been conveyed using the Web site have included snow closing and cancellations, rabies alerts, code red days and updates on other transportation interruptions.

Hospitals – especially rural facilities – face big Y2K snag, Senate committee told
Hospital administrators and the General Accounting Office recently told a Senate Committee that hospitals aren’t ready for Y2K.
They said devices ranging from CT scanners to ultrasound machines are likely to give incorrect information because they have embedded chips or programs that use only two digits for the year.
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who chairs the Special Committee on the Year 2000 problem, said he would introduce legislation providing $50 million to help rural hospitals.

Civic League offers problem-solving tips for communities
The Community Assistance Team, a program of the National Civic League, has just created the Building Your Community’s Problem Solving Capacities: Insights From the Community Assistance Team Web page, located at http://www.ncl.org/ncl/cat1.htm.
In addition to columns about community problem solving, the site also includes a direct link to ask questions of a community assistance team.

(Web Watch is compiled by Mary Ann Barton, senior staff writer. Got some news? Send it to mbarton@naco.org)