File Geodatabase API - Released (Finally)
 Mapperz
Jan. 21 

A link and reference to the release of the ESRI File Geodatabase API, a locked format inaccessible outside of ESRI software/ArcObjects can now be accessed.

 

Location: The Future of Mobile Marketing
 Motti Kushnir
Jan. 22 

Motti Kushnir, Chief Marketing Officer at Telmap, a world leader in mobile location-based services, says that advertising campaigns that incorporate location-based information can provide a better ROI through razor-sharp targeting

 

New Geolocation App Connects Citizen First Responders to Heart Attack Victims
 Alex Howard, O'Reilly Radar
Jan. 25

Discussion on a new iPhone application that will connect citizens trained in cardiac response to events and locations where individuals are in cardiac distress. Built by a San Ramon, Calif. fire department, this app is a good example of government aid built to allow citizens to help one another.

 

FAA Warns of Ongoing GPS Issues in Southeastern US Due to Defense Department 'Tests'
 Donald Melanson, Engadget
Jan. 20

Don't panic, but anyone planning on using GPS in the southeastern US for the next month or so will likely want to make sure they have a fallback option.

Ground Zero Reconstruction Facilitated by Mapping and Visualization Technology
Hilton Collins, Government Technology
Jan. 25
 Google Earth allows the LMCCC [Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center] to provide 3-D imaging of disaster sites to give people a more complete picture of reconstruction.

PolicyMap Featured in Federal Reserve Bank's New Product
GISLounge.com
Jan. 20
 Earlier this week the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced the launch of Map Your Community, a new tool that allows visitors to their site to create customized maps using a PolicyMap widget.

Republicans Face Obstacles in Redistricting
Daniel Vock, Stateline
Jan. 12
 Republicans will get to enjoy the spoils of electoral success in many parts of the country this year as states redraw political boundaries for the U.S. House of Representatives as well as for state legislatures. In November, voters put the GOP in charge of 29 governorships and boosted Republican numbers in state legislatures to the highest level in a lifetime.

 Why Do Voters Always Lose When Politicians Redraw the Lines?
Chris Rickert, Wisconsin State Journal
Jan. 8
 As we approach another legislative redistricting effort, many people are suggesting that the process could be fairly completed with simple GIS analysis rather than the typical partisan gerrymandering that leaves voters holding their noses.

Update: Sierra Club Loses Fight to Get Orange County Parcel Data at Cost
 Directions Magazine
Jan. 24
 The ruling(pdf) by Orange County Superior Court Judge James J. DiCesare basically states that the data in question (640,000 taxable parcels in Orange County, California) are not data but software and thus do not fall under the state public records law.

New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide
 USGS
Continually Updated
 USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death.

Earth's Magnetic Pole Shifts, Screws up Runway at Florida Airport
 Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News
Jan. 7
 An airport in Tampa, Florida, has had to temporarily close its runways to keep up with Earth's magnetic north pole, which is drifting toward Russia at a rate of 40 miles per year.

World According to Americans
 xkcd
 A non-offensive view of the world as seen by Americans, with some subtle humor layered in.

Nazis Up the Mississippi, And Other Axis Invasion Scenarios
 Frank Jacobs, Strange Maps
Jan. 19
 Some unsettling maps from a 1942 issue of Life magazine of what might have been had the Third Reich had its way.

Historic Red Wing to Open Doors with Economic Gateway
 Golden Shovel Agency via Yahoo! News
 The Red Wing Port Authority has chosen Economic Gateway, featuring ADC's EAGL-i GIS-based site selection tool, for assisting business expansion and relocation to its historic and scenic community.