I'm part of a group organizing about police body cameras in Somerville, and Councilor JT Scott will be sponsoring some of us to speak at the Legislative Matters committee meeting on April 28th, but in the meantime there's a Finance Committee agenda item for tomorrow night to approve the mayor's request that we accept and expend a federal grant to buy the cameras.
#SomervilleMA is discussing deploying body worn cameras on our police officers. This might sound good from an accountability perspective, but in most cities with police body cameras, the cameras and footage are controlled by the police and are used primarily for surveillance.
Somerville residents, please contact the Finance Committee to ask them to defer acceptance of grant money for cameras until we have more information. Details below.
Well this is disappointing 😖
"... The Commonwealth holds some of the most sensitive personal information of its more than 7 million residents — and under the Healey administration’s three-year, roughly $4.3-million-a-year contract with OpenAI, all of that is now in the orbit of a private AI system ..."
#Massachusetts #AI #privacy
#mapoli
https://commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/what-it-means-that-a-state-ai-assistant-will-handle-your-data/
This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
Massachusetts police dogs could get pension funds honoring Boston Marathon hero K-9 https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/04/04/massachusetts-police-dogs-could-get-pension-funds-honoring-boston-marathon-hero-k-9/
#Massachusetts #K9 #Police #BostonMarathon #AnimalWelfare #MApoli
Okay, not gonna lie, I love this video from Burhan Azeem about how to fix and expand the T and his candidacy for MA state senate. I'm totally with him on expanding the transit network -- needs more details, but he's got the right energy & emphasis, imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd-nazuiHqY
#MBTA #MAPoli #SomerPoli #trains #CambridgeMA (Lol, thank you to @dashdsrdash for the correct link!)
And speaking of #corruption
I want Tompkins officially out--voted out--but it almost seems as if there's an endemic problem with the sheriff's office.
Right, but our requests for reduced fares can screw.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mbta-consultant-james-brooks-remote-work/
The WBZ I-Team has uncovered a no-bid contract for an MBTA consultant who collected $713,000 in public funds working almost exclusively from his home in South Carolina.
A city official acknowledges that the area is "a high threat" to pedestrian safety, but after 6 years of design work, the city still doesn't have a shovel-ready plan.
Alexandra Thorn
🕯️Curious Magpie 🕯️
Jonathan Kamens 86 47
Sue
Subconscious Proxy
Crystal Huff (they/them)
Deb Nam-Krane
StreetsblogMASS