Cash-strapped governments are turning to tech that converts cameras into automated license plate readers to penalize uninsured drivers — In March, the president of Rekor Systems Inc., Robert Berman, told investors that 2020 was a “transformative year.” The surveillance tech company’s platform, Rekor One, which converts regular cameras into automated license plate readers (ALPR), had proven alluring to cash-strapped state governments during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Residents fear the gadgets will enable snooping — and much worse — About a year ago, Brian Davidson spotted a crew installing a 14-foot pole in the middle of his neighbor’s well-manicured lawn. When he walked next door to ask what was happening, he learned that his homeowner association’s board of directors near Dallas, Texas, was installing automated license plate readers (ALPRs)…

This story was originally written for Stranger Stories, RI’s ‘flight’ theme. Then the pandemic happened. I felt some apprehension as we lifted off in the two-seater. But, as I have obnoxiously told others wary of flight, it is more statistically probable to die in a car crash than hurtle into…

Viruses ‘cooperate.’ To keep up, scientists are, too. — Viruses are constantly evolving through interactions inside “clouds.” Inside these swarms, they pick up traits from their neighbors, forming novel strains that more efficiently hijack cells or are harder for the immune system to neutralize. Essentially, they cooperate. To fight the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe, scientists are also cooperating…

In the first half of 2018, advocates filed 112 FOIA requests for body cam footage. None were granted. — The atmosphere was commemorative, yet solemn outside of Culture House DC (formerly Blind Whino) on June 12, 2019, one year after the Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed 22-year-old Marqueese “Queese” Alston. Candles lit readily on the windless evening in Southwest DC, while about 60 friends and family members wearing…

“I left with an Xbox, a printer, a vacuum cleaner, the nicest pottery I’ve ever owned, a U.S Army survival skills book, and a rainbow lava lamp.” But it wasn’t just about the stuff. — Mounds of clothing and toys, crafts and kitchenware, a library-worth of zines and books — even a clothing repair booth — filled the upstairs stage hall at St. Stephen’s Church in D.C. on the third Saturday of this month. …

A rushed hearing with little opportunity for public input raises questions about merit, priorities, and accountability. — During testimony at DC Council’s round table last month, advisory neighborhood commissioner Lorenzo Green, April Goggans of Black Lives Matter DC, and others, explored the relatively uncharted territory of the link between police salary and budget, misconduct, and accountability. …