The Colorado Digital Service’s first year in existence did not go as originally planned. But the new small agency, a self-described “SWAT team of nerds,” would up playing a vital role in designing and managing the technology behind the state’s COVID-19 response. “Bummer is that COVID has taken away from some of the projects that we’d hoped to work on,” Kelly Taylor, the director of the seven-person shop, told StateScoop in a phone interview. Ryan Johnston has more.

A Message From AWS Educate

With over 1,500 institutions and hundreds of thousands of students who use AWS Educate, we wanted to take you on a trip around the world and highlight how students are learning and innovating with the cloud. Learn more.

CSU Stanislaus puts student coaches on campus with College Possible partnership

As universities around the country struggle to retain their students during the remote learning era, California State University, Stanislaus is adopting a service that connects students to nearby coaches who can help them with coursework and other facets of university life. Stanislaus State, an institution with about 8,600 students in California's Central Valley, announced last week a new partnership with College Possible, a nonprofit that connects high-school and university students with nearby coaches. Colin Wood has the latest.

Biden calls for tech modernization to boost workforce at national security, foreign policy agencies

Agencies with foreign policy and national security missions must modernize to ensure officials performing those roles have the latest technologies at their disposal, according to a new memo from President Biden. Modernization is one of the six principles that should guide the revitalization of the workforce, the institutions and the partnerships at those agencies, the memorandum says. The others are integrity, transparency, diversity, service and accountability. Dave Nyczepir has more.

Nevada weighs letting tech companies build their own communities

Technology companies could form their own local governmental jurisdictions in Nevada if planned legislation reaches Gov. Steve Sisolak’s desk this year. According to a draft bill obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, state lawmakers will soon be voting on whether or not to approve the creation of “Innovation Zones” — large swathes of land owned by companies that specialize in emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, biometrics, autonomous vehicles and connected infrastructure — that carry virtually the same authority as a county government to impose taxes, form school districts and justice courts, among other traditional services that government provides. Ryan Johnston looks closer.

Job of the Day

Senior Information Technology Program Manager |U.S. Senate

This is senior-level professional work planning, scheduling, managing, monitoring and executing information technology (IT) programs and projects for the Sergeant at Arms (SAA). Work includes setting schedules, developing statements of work, participating in the source selection process, overseeing contract vendors, and coordinating with various SAA departments to accomplish project and program goals and objectives. Work in this classification is distinguished from the IT Program Manager by its level of expertise and complexity of projects. See this job and others here.