: News

Filed Under:

Virginia's Information Technology May Answer to a Higher Power

By: Stephanie Kaye // August 28, 2009
Play associated audio
comments

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds says he plans to make Virginia's massive computer agency the first to face performance reviews if he's elected governor.

Deeds wants the chief of Virginia's Information Technologies Agency needs to report to the governor, as other state agencies do. The technology agency was created six years ago to standardize the state's computing systems, and was supposed to streamline the government. But instead of a more efficient and inexpensive system, state agencies are complaining that prices are higher, delays are longer and service to the system is poor. The complaints triggered three inquiries into the tech agency's 10-year, $2.3 billion partnership with defense company Northrop Grumman. It is the largest contract to a single vendor for one project ever in Virginia.

Stephanie Kaye reports...

Arts & Culture

NPR

Three-Minute Fiction Readings: 'Geometry' And 'Snowflake'

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles.

Food

NPR

Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?

The grill "is the one and only male-dominated appliance in America," says a researcher who recently crunched the numbers. He found that men are more than twice as likely as women to be the primary grillers at home. One reason? Grilling can feel like a form of recreation.

Politics

NPR

IRS Hearings Highlight Ambiguity Of Nonprofits In Politics

The congressional hearings about the IRS's handling of Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status raise the question of why and how tax-exempt groups engage in politics in the first place.

Technology

NPR

Google Reportedly Faces FTC Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads

The Federal Trade Commission is in the early stages of opening an antitrust probe into how Google runs its online display advertising business, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing sources who want to remain anonymous because the FTC has not announced the probe.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.