NWA gardeners and farmer warn Arkansans to protect plants ahead of freeze Share Updated: 2:06 PM CDT Apr 17, 2021 Share Updated: 2:06 PM CDT Apr 17, 2021
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Show Transcript WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR GARDENS. THERE S AN OLD SAYING THAT APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS, BUT WHAT ABOUT AN APRIL FREEZE? A LOCAL GARDENING EXPERT SAYS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR ANYTHING. I love planting something and watching it grow, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. ROCKWELL FARMS NURSERY IN ROGERS IS IN FULL BLOOM, AS MANY ARKANSANS GEAR UP FOR PLANTING SEASON This is northwest Arkansas, we go up and down all the time and a good gardener always prepares for that cold night of weather. ROCKWELL SAYS THEY COVER THEIR PLANTS USING THE HOOP METHOD WITH A WHITE TARP OVER THESE RINGS, BUT IT S MORE DIFFICULT FOR FARMERS LIKE RYAN NEAL WITH 6 ACRES OF BERRIES. A lot of times we have to just cross our fingers and hope
By Mark Rockwell
Oct 19, 2020
It only takes one small breach to dent confidence in the nation’s election systems, according to a digital rights and technology expert.
While the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other organizations have made great strides since 2016 to shore up local election infrastructure, “cybersecurity is an active process. Threats are constantly changing and evolving, so we need to keep making the case that election officials need to prioritize cybersecurity and not be complacent, said William Adler, senior technologist for elections and democracy at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
Adler s comments came during an Oct. 16 conference call with reporters. He and other officials at the technology and digital rights advocacy group explained the variety of threats facing the upcoming elections, from voter suppression to misinformation about mail-in ballots and cybersecurity. Even an unsuccessful attack, if detected and publi
By Mark Rockwell
The General Services Administration worked with the Defense Department and vendors to reconfigure the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions Blanket Purchase Agreement that resulted in a dramatically lower ceiling value from the initial award, according to the agency s manager of the contract.
GSA initially awarded DEOS, a 10-year contract to provide Microsoft s productivity suite Office 365 to DOD, to General Dynamics IT in 2019. The ceiling value of the award was $7.6 billion. The solicitation was revised amid protests and the contract was re-awarded to GDIT last month with a $4.4 billion ceiling.
At the time of the the re-award, GSA declined comment, citing the post-award protest period. With that period passed, officials explained the revised price tag.
By Mark Rockwell
The General Services Administration continues to have problems with managing identity cards it issues to contractors to access its buildings and IT systems, according to a report from agency s Office of Inspector General.
The report, issued on Nov. 4, covers an audit period between February, 2017 and August, 2019. It builds on an OIG 2016 audit that found the agency couldn t account for 15,000 of the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards it issued to its contractors. The report also said the agency didn t collect PIV cards from 445 contract employees who failed background checks.
The more recent audit, said the report, showed GSA activated 39,090 contract employee PIV cards. The report said the OIG s review of data from the GSA Credential and Identity Management System (GCIMS) showed the agency could not account for 14,928, or 38%, of those cards. It said over 2,100 of those cards had been issued to contract employees who were removed from the contracts
Dec 28, 2020
2020 was a year like no other. The pandemic kicked it off in March and continues. The year came to a close with a massive hack of government systems and with a contentious presidential transition underway. In the final episode of Project 38 for 2020, Editor Nick Wakeman gathers reporters from Washington Technology, FCW and Defense Systems to review their top stories and issues of the year.
Lauren Williams, senior editor of FCW and Defense Systems, brings her views from the defense beat, while FCW’s Mark Rockwell shares important procurement trends. And WT Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers talks the business of government and contractors.