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Madrid wants to manage the resources needed to serve its fast-growing elderly population by incentivizing older residents to live in shared private housing. Officials believe that the move would result in cheaper living expenses, facilitate care, and avoid the loss of independence and diminished feelings of wellbeing that often comes with living in retirement homes. The city also plans to expand contact between its seniors and social services using WhatsApp and Skype. For now, in addition to touting the benefits of shared living, Madrid is recruiting interested individuals looking to rent to other senior roommates by offering free tickets to cultural events.
East High School in Salt Lake City has installed showers and laundry facilities on campus for homeless students to use. Towels, soap, shampoo and detergent, along with other donated items, are also available for use. The school estimates between 50 and 100 of its students do not have access to a shower or a washing machine on a daily basis. Officials note that access to these basic sanitary items will help students to be less self-conscious, freeing up mental and physical space to focus on their studies. The school also runs a food pantry for needy students and their families.
To combat cybercrime and limit damages to consumers, the state of New York has issued final regulations requiring banks and insurers to meet minimum cybersecurity standards and report breaches to state regulators. The protections require firms to scrutinize the data practices of third-party vendors that provide goods and services to firms, undertake internal risk assessments in order to design a cybersecurity program uniquely tailored to the firm, and receive annual certifications of compliance. The regulation is a response to a series of high-profile data breaches that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to consumers and companies.
In Greenwich, London, members of the British public are getting their first extended trial of a driverless shuttle bus. The autonomous vehicle carries four people, is guided by five cameras and three lasers, and will navigate a two-mile riverside path shared by pedestrians and cyclists. A trained staff member will be on board to stop the vehicle if the need arises. Officials predict that passengers could begin paying to use the system by 2019, and that other autonomous shuttles will be introduced elsewhere.
To help make the ballot box more accessible and more secure in Nigeria, the country’s National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure has developed a solar-powered electronic voting machine. The device will use facial and thumbprint biometric authentications as well as cloud-based storage to ensure that potential thieves cannot alter voter information if they steal the device. Voting data will be transmitted directly to a central database where it can be viewed online in real-time. It is expected that the device will help make the electoral process more efficient and fair.
All beauty professionals in the state of Illinois must now take domestic violence training as part of their biennial continuing education requirement. State lawmakers believe that barbers, hairstylists, manicurists, and other beauty-related workers are in a good position to recognize and respond to signs of domestic abuse given the close relationships they have with their clients and how often some of them see each other. This bill follows in the footsteps of programs around that country that are taking advantage of salons and barbershops to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities.
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