GoKawiil
Tech News
The Hermantown, Minnesota city council unanimously approved Google's proposed 200-acre data center after two delayed meetings and hours of public opposition. Google reduced the project from four buildings to three, capped building height at 33 feet, agreed to monitor nearby private wells, and withdrew its request for up to $80 million in property tax breaks.
Plymouth City Council voted on September 22 to end its contract with license-plate camera maker Flock, and the city notified Flock the next day, followed by a formal cancellation letter. When Flock did not respond for more than a week, Police Chief Eric Fadden ordered staff to unplug the cameras' power cords to stop them from recording.
Atlanta's City Council voted unanimously to approve the HALT (Human Authority over Lethal Technology) Act, barring city employees and contractors, including police, from acquiring weaponized drones, robot dogs or other armed autonomous machines. The measure, introduced by Council member Liliana Bakhtiari, exempts only robots used for defusing explosives and keeps lethal decision-making in human hands.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced a deal on Tuesday to ban horse-drawn carriages from operating in the city, including Central Park. The move would end a practice that has drawn controversy for more than a century and that previous mayors failed to eliminate despite repeated attempts.
Springfield, Missouri's city council voted 5-3 on Monday to route a resolution reviewing police use of Flock Automatic License Plate Readers to a planning committee rather than allow public comment. Attendees who had gathered to speak reacted with shouting and protest as they left the meeting, and councilman Brandon Jenson criticized the process for denying residents a chance to be heard.