By Laura Olson, Ohio Capital Journal
Could this happen in Ohio?
In October 2019, officials at a tiny western New Hampshire school district suddenly realized they had a problem on their hands.
The Sunapee School District’s servers, documents and other internal information systems had been locked down by an outside entity demanding a ransom payment.
A cyberattack, like the Colonial Pipeline one that spurred days of shuttered gas stations this spring, had seized the small, 430-student school district, which has just one full-time IT staffer and a part-time technician.
System backups meant the school district eventually was able to resume its operations without paying ransom to the attackers. But the recovery took nine days and cost more than $40,000 in fees, materials and hardware, according to Russell Holden, the district’s superintendent. More…
By Chris Booker, Ohio State News
Richland County businesses and prospective employees, take note of this.
The Ohio State University is making its popular Swift Coding and App Development certificate program available to the public. By expanding access to learners everywhere, participants gain cutting-edge skills for today’s modern economy.
Additionally, the university is working with local businesses to provide workforce development opportunities for their employees through Ohio’s TechCred program.
In just over a year since it launched, more than 3,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni have enrolled in the certificate program, completing self-paced modules on their schedule and building valuable skills. More…
Publisher’s Note: This story is part of the SoJo Exchange from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. 1812Blockhouse is pleased to share these stories from time to time with permission.
By Linda Poon, City Lab
When the pandemic shut down schools in March, it created a new urgency to narrow the digital gap in the U.S. as millions of students struggled to participate in remote learning because they didn’t have internet access at home. It also reinforced the reality that the divide doesn’t just exist between rural and urban communities, but also within America’s largest cities. Some 500,000 households lack reliable connection in New York City, for example; in Chicago, 1 in 5 students don’t have broadband, according to data published at the start of the pandemic. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
As we head into another year where staying at home is the name of the game, it’s good to explore online options.
One is one of the newest databases at the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, and it’s an amazing one.
The MRPCL offers access to Lynda.com to its patrons via an online interface. Lynda.com is a leading online learning platform that helps anyone learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. More…
Learning, Mansfield Richland County Public Library, Technology
By 1812Blockhouse
It wasn’t that long ago that Richland Countians obtained local news and information almost solely via newspaper, radio, and television.
Everyone who has lived through some or all of the last twenty years knows the impact that the Internet has had on communication. In fits and starts, Mansfield businesses and organizations have joined local media in staking out an online presence. Today, it’s a standard part of doing business.
By 1812Blockhouse
A new internet service is coming to Richland County,as T-Mobile has announced that it is expanding Home Internet to more than 130 additional cities and towns across nine states.
Those cities include Mansfield, as well as area communities of Ashland, Bucyrus, Galion, Marion, and Wooster.
In its press release, the company highlighted the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of broadband connectivity. In response to this situation, the company shared, expansion of its Home Internet pilot program and the introduction of5G Home Internet service have been expedited. More…
The free HuntFish OH mobile app is available now for Ohio’s outdoors enthusiasts to conveniently purchase fishing and hunting licenses, check game, and view wildlife area maps, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The HuntFish OH mobile app is available for Android and iOS users and can be found in the app store.
“Many people are using their mobile devices to purchase hunting and fishing licenses and other Division of Wildlife products. This new app will make those transactions easier,” said Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker. “We are excited to launch this new resource to help our customers.” More…
Fishing, Hunting, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Technology
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
Mansfield City Council’s Finance Committee members asked themselves a question on Tuesday evening which government officials are asking all over Ohio these days.
How can a city best plan for the future in light of the unknown economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?
In the case of Mansfield, that refers to the City’s needs for technology and hardware, items which often become obsolete within a few years leaving them vulnerable and without opportunities for support. More…
City of Mansfield, Featured, Mansfield City Council, Technology
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
It’s getting to be quite the trend in Richland County, as local governments update their web presence in an effort to keep citizens informed and potential investors impressed.
This past week, we shared news of the City of Ontario’s brand-new website which presents their community in a new way.
Not to be outdone, the City of Shelby is the latest municipality in the area to activate a new website. In this case, however, they launched three new ones — for the City of Shelby, the Shelby Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), and the Shelby City Health Department. More…
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
This spring, one Richland County community has given itself an opportunity for a new, spruced up impression for those seeking information online about what it has to offer.
The City of Ontario has dispensed with its former cramped, difficult to navigate website and replaced it with something much more up to date.
The new site’s home page contains a rotating gallery of bright, colorful images. Easy to read tabs provide access to learn about local government, businesses, events, and more. More…
By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
Almost all public meetings held by local governments and school districts continue to be held via livestreaming, either via Facebook, YouTube, or by being broadcast on other online applications like Zoom.
The change in Ohio’s Sunshine Laws that gave rise to the ability to conduct meetings in this matter was enacted in March by the Ohio General Assembly. Certain conditions must be met, however participation in these meetings via the internet is allowable. More…
Yesterday, we shared news of the Richland County updating its web presence, both on their own site and also on Facebook.
Today we share information about another new website.
A slick new homepage, published on Monday, awaits online visitors to tygerpride.com, the Mansfield City Schools homepage. More…
Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center (MOESC) has announced that the first meeting of the Girls Who Code Club will be held on January 30 at 4:00 PM at MOESC (890 West Fourth Street, Mansfield).
Nationally, Girls Who Code clubs are free programs for girls, broken into 3rd-5th grades and 6th-12th grades, that allows girls to be part of a group of supportive peers as they learn and use computer science to change the world. More…
InnovateOhio, under the direction of Lt. Governor Jon Husted, released the Ohio Broadband Strategy this past Thursday.
The document serves as a comprehensive plan for aggressively expanding and enhancing the state’s broadband network. If approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it will also qualify local governments in Ohio to receive 20 additional points on applications for federal ReConnect funding. Finally, InnovateOhio is working with Connected Nation Ohio to produce a series of broadband availability maps, each with interactive GIS map layers, allowing journalists, researchers and legislators to zoom in and explore them directly. More…
Everstream, a business only fiber network that has already connected to the Mansfield area is continuing its growth, announcing on Wednesday that is has further expanded its enterprise-grade fiber network in its home city of Cleveland, with the installation of an additional 620 route miles of dense fiber. The high-bandwidth connectivity from Everstream connects businesses throughout Northeast Ohio, with the network now reaching from Toledo in the west to Conneaut in the east and as far south as Mansfield. More…
