Rich Lord

2 months ago | publicsource.org | Rich Lord

The new Department of Government Efficiency claims to be purging deceased people from the Social Security rolls, cutting federal employees’ credit card use and hunting down “wasteful contracts and grants” all over Washington, D.C.The brainchild of tech mogul Elon Musk has also been a defendant in court fights in which DOGE is accused of accessing citizens’ sensitive data, hacking at the federal workforce in ways that may compromise government services and potentially degrading national security.

2 months ago | publicsource.org | Roman Hladio |Rich Lord

This story was originally published by NEXTpittsburgh, a news partner of PublicSource. NEXTpittsburgh features the people, projects and places advancing the region and the innovative and cool things happening here. Sign up to get their free newsletter. Standing at the podium of Carnegie Mellon University’s Simmons Auditorium, Zico Kolter asks an audience of AI researchers, policymakers and students to imagine an AI system that could successfully complete a colleague’s workload.

2 months ago | publicsource.org | Rich Lord

Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board voted to start a public comment period on potential, dramatic changes in service and a fare hike. The comment period will start Monday and run  through Wednesday, June 18. Public comments will be accepted in writing or at hearings for which dates and times have yet to be announced. The vote follows a committee meeting last week at which PRT board members heard details of changes that might be necessitated with flat state funding.

2 months ago | publicsource.org | Adam Smeltz |Rich Lord

Pittsburgh Regional Transit riders would see widespread service reductions and modest fare increases under a proposal introduced at a meeting of its board committees on Thursday. Those changes could take effect if the agency doesn’t secure additional state funding. It has asked for $117 million more in state funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The full board will vote next week on whether to advance the proposal to a public comment period that would last through June.

2 months ago | publicsource.org | Adam Smeltz |Rich Lord

Bus and T service could see the biggest cuts in 25 years. In 2007, service was reduced by 18%. Fares could increase. PRT last updated prices in 2022, setting a $2.75 flat fare for ConnectCard users. PRT is asking the state to hike its funding by $117 million — versus the governor’s proposed $40 million boost — and more in later years to avoid cuts and potentially being “out of business” in a few years.