State | Local Security
Law enforcement, homeland security, White House vow to find Boston bomber
Copley
Square
explosion
Federal, state and local investigators are in the initial stages of tracking down the person or persons responsible for two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 that killed three people and wounded over 100, but said no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest details to emerge from the afternoon of chaos in the city included news that the bombs -- which were stuffed in trashcans near the race route -- contained ball bearings or BBs meant to cause even more substantial injuries to bystanders.
GSN 2012 Awards announced: White House deputy of homeland security recognized for leadership at annual gala
GSN Awards 2012
Hundreds of the best of the homeland security community’s federal, state and municipal government officials, government contractors, systems integrators, IT vendors and physical security product and solutions providers all came together the night of November 29 in a ballroom of the Washington, D.C. convention center to receive accolades.
The GSN awards dinner, which has become a Washington tradition over the last four years, offered a chance for the excellence and civic-minded spirit of homeland security efforts nationwide to be recognized.
GSN 2012 Homeland Security Awards program open for entries
The Government Security News 2012 Homeland Security Awards Program officially opened for entries on May 1, once again featuring 45 Awards in three broad Categories:Best Vendors of IT Security Products and Solutions, Best Vendors of Physical Security Products and Solutions and the 2011 Government Excellence Awards.
GSN 2011 Awards Program opens for entries on April 26
Government Security News has announced that its 2011 Homeland Security Awards Program will officially open for business and start accepting entries in the program’s 45 awards categories on Tuesday, April 26.
OzVision
Alan Avidan, President, indicates that OzVision is pushing the forefront of hosted video services for dealers and users. The company’s government market includes military bases, government facilities, and national monuments such as the Washington Monument, the State of Liberty and Ford’s Theater. Avidan calls for dealers and central services to join in the hosted video movement, which he describes as the future of the industry.
Obama seeks three percent hike in discretionary budget at DHS
Despite official murmurings a few months ago that the fiscal year 2011 budget request for DHS might decline slightly, the budget package unveiled on February 1 actually shows a three percent increase in “discretionary spending” by DHS in 2011, versus the prior year, and modest growth, at approximately the predicted rate of inflation, in the outer years.
Captain pleads guilty and company pleads no contest in fatal parasailing accident
Charlotte Amalie Harbor
St. Thomas
The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands announced that the captain of a vessel that was involved in a fatal parasailing accident just outside Charlotte Amalie Harbor in 2011, pleaded guilty, and the owner of the vessel pleaded no contest, to charges under the Seaman's Manslaughter Act in District Court Monday.
Sen. Levin thanks police officers and promotes background checks for gun buyers
Senator Carl Levin
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), the chairman of the armed services committee and the ranking Democrat on the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, saluted the nation’s law enforcement officers in a statement he issued on June 11, in which he also advocated “commonsense” background checks for gun buyers.
Levin noted that police officers from around the nation gathered lst month at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, to commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Mexican nationals soon will be allowed to visit New Mexico within 55 miles of border
New Mexico State Univ.
in Las Cruces, NM, is
within 55 miles of border
Mexican nationals, who have been allowed for decades to visit areas in the southern portion of the State of New Mexico within 25 miles of the border, will now be able to move about in a newly-defined “Border Zone” that will be expanded to within 55 miles of the border, if they possess a U.S.-issued Border Crossing Card.
DC 37 calls for federal investigation of NYC’s ‘flawed’ 9-1-1 system
Lillian Roberts
District Council 37, AFSCME, Executive Director Lillian Roberts has called on DHS to investigate New York City’s 9-1-1 emergency response system, citing recent alleged failures and the fact that the $2 billion system was funded, in part, by federal dollars.