The Harlow Report-GIS
2025 Edition
ISSN 0742-468XSince 1978
On-line Since 2000
GIS News Snippets
For the week of
May 12, 2025
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A “Harlow Report” From May 13, 2024
Kentucky, the First State to Capture Oblique Photography of Its Entire Geography From the Sky
by Stan Ingold
Kentucky is now the first state in the nation to capture oblique photography of its entire geography from the sky. This is photography taken from a side angle, or parallel view.
Kent Anness is the Geographic Information Officer for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He said this will have multiple uses, especially when it comes to first responders.
“For example, one of the first integrations that is occurring is in the 911 call centers. So, for example, when they get a call, there is a dot on the map, they can click on that, it launches this viewer and it lets them see that structure from four different sides.”
Aerial images make it easier for emergency management leaders to assess damage after natural disasters and find safer places to rebuild. They can also enhance:
Read full story at WEKU…
Now back to 2025
Colorado Launches Property Tax Map as a Central Source to Understand Taxing Jurisdictions and Property Tax Rates
by Colorado.gov
This first-of-its-kind map aggregates data provided to the state by local governments and displays historical taxing, parcel and levy information in a way that has never been done, adding context and clarity to an often confusing subject.
“In Colorado, we have made it one of our top priorities to decrease property taxes for all Coloradans. I am excited to launch the Colorado Property Tax Map tool to take the stress out of taxes by offering a user-friendly map to remove the guesswork for Coloradans,”said Governor Polis.
This map is a great resource for last year's property tax information. It gives property owners and other interested parties a good picture of value, taxing jurisdictions that collect taxes against their property and what mill levies were in the last year. The Colorado Property Tax Map can be viewed from any device and does not require an account. Visit https://dpt.colorado.gov/property-tax-map for more information and to access the map. A Property Tax Map Help Guide is available at https://gis.colorado.gov/proptaxmap/?page=Help.
Read full story at Colorado.gov…
Digital Elevation Models, Old Maps, and Cultural Heritage—Geospatial Assets for the Digital Humanities
by Britta Ricker
A spatial approach to the digital humanities connects tangible geographic sources from the past with clues found in the present-day landscape.
Summary
Digital elevation models (DEMs), including digital terrain models (DTM), digital surface models (DSM), and relative elevation models (REM), are used to visualize landscape patterns, revealing cultural heritage through cartographic design. In the Netherlands, DEMs highlight historical river control along the Linge River, showing enduring dikes and settlements from an 18th-century map.
By comparing DEMs with old maps, researchers uncover human-environment interactions, such as Dutch water management. Cartographic choices, like color schemes, enhance narrative communication, fostering digital literacy and critical thinking in the humanities. This exploratory process, using open-source GIS tools, supports cultural heritage studies and public engagement.
Read full story at Frontiers…
Esri Adds California Live Camera Feeds to ArcGIS for Better Awareness of Wildfires and Other Disasters
by Esri Insider
New Map Layer Provides Critical Real-Time Information to Emergency Responders and the Public
Esri and the University of California San Diego's ALERTCalifornia program have launched a new ready-to-use map layer that provides instant access to live camera feeds across California. The new layer makes ALERTCalifornia's extensive network of natural hazard monitoring cameras easily accessible to emergency responders and the public.
Freely available in the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to the public, this map layer provides access to more than 1,150 high-definition, pan-tilt-zoom cameras and sensor arrays within ALERTCalifornia's growing network. The layer shows each camera's location, real-time viewshed, along with the camera's current image. … The cameras, strategically placed using Esri's advanced mapping technology, provide continuous real-time imagery updated every 15 seconds. The map and camera feeds can also be viewed on the ALERTCalifornia public website, and are a valuable resource for preparation, response, and recovery from various natural disasters.
Read full story at Esri…
How GIS Technology Is Mapping The Gaza Conflict — And Preserving Collective Memory
by Mohamed Amgad Karara
In Gaza, Geographic Information Systems … are helping various organizations to distribute aid, track patterns of violence and destruction, and preserve collective memory.
Summary
Forensic Architecture and other organizations like Human Rights Watch, UNICEF, Al Jazeera, and B'Tselem leverage Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to document human rights violations, particularly in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
GIS integrates satellite imagery and field data to track violence, assess damage, and direct humanitarian aid, such as UNRWA's support for 280,000 students and health centers. These groups use GIS to create interactive maps and platforms, like Forensic Architecture's timeline of Israeli attacks from 2023-2025, to preserve evidence of occupation, raise awareness, and narrate Palestinian suffering, aiming to hold perpetrators accountable and maintain a living memory of the conflict.
Read full story at WorldCrumch…
VertiGIS Announces ConnectMaster™ for ArcGIS® to Enhance Network Inventory Management for Telecommunications and Utilities
by VertiGIS Press Release
VertiGIS ConnectMaster™ for ArcGIS® is designed to transform how telecommunications network operators and utilities manage their network inventory and operations.
Summary
VertiGIS has launched ConnectMaster for ArcGIS, a platform enhancing telecommunications and utility network management by integrating Esri's ArcGIS software. It offers seamless data access, improved asset visibility, and collaboration through full ArcGIS integration.
The platform ensures scalability with cloud compatibility and support for AI, BIM, and IoT. Unified workflows boost productivity, while cross-departmental access simplifies communication.
By consolidating systems, it reduces costs and optimizes resources, leveraging existing ArcGIS investments. ConnectMaster delivers real-time insights, precision, and operational excellence, enabling efficient planning, documentation, and management of physical and logical networks.
Read full story at VertiGIS…
Industry News
In Government
AI in Procurement Is a Game Changer for Government
by Adam Stone
From creating baseline language for RFPs to analyzing vendor performance and more, artificial intelligence is poised to become a mainstay in government procurement offices.
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Artificial intelligence has permeated dozens of government functions over the past few years, and government procurement is no exception. Jim Weaver, former North Carolina CIO, told StateTech that procurement was one of the first AI use cases in the state, and that it vastly improved procurement timelines.
Recently, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) polled all 54 U.S. chief procurement officers, and respondents indicated that AI was a key priority in 2025. In the coming months and years, we should expect to see more widespread use of AI for a variety of purposes, including — but not limited to — developing baseline language for RFPs, conducting research to inform RFPs and analyzing responses.
Read full story at StateTech…
Here Are the Tech Takeaways From Trump's Budget Proposal
by Alexandria Kelly & Natalie Alms
The White House has suggested sweeping reductions to many civilian agencies, though it promises to maintain investments in emerging technologies.
Summary:
The Trump administration released the outline of its 2026 budget request Friday morning, calling for a reduction in non-defense discretionary funding by $163 billion, or about 23% from 2025.
The so-called “skinny budget” includes cuts to a range of nondefense discretionary spending — which doesn't include mandatory programs like Social Security— and increases in some places like the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration. The administration says that it is proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. Some of the increases for defense and border security would come from a reconciliation package the administration is working on with congressional Republicans.
The White House says that it's taking aim at “woke” diversity programs and work on climate change; moving some government work to the state and local level; and ridding the government of “weaponized rot,” pointing to cuts to the IRS and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as examples.
Read full story at Government Excecutive…
NASA'S SPHEREx Space Telescope Has Begun Its Mission to Map the Entire Sky in 3D
by Cheyenne Macdonald
The observatory will capture 3,600 images per day.
A space observatory designed to map the entire sky over a period of two years to further our understanding of the early universe has started snapping images. SPHEREx, which launched in early March, got started with its observations this past week after over a month of setup procedures and system checks, according to NASA. The space telescope will complete about 14.5 orbits of Earth per day, capturing roughly 3,600 images daily and observing the sky in an unprecedented 102 wavelengths of infrared light. Its observations will eventually be combined to create four “all-sky”maps.
Read full story at engadget…
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In Technology
Apple Faces Developer Lawsuit After Defying App Store Injunction
by Juli Clover
Apple is being sued by developers unhappy with the company's “willful violation” of the anti-steering injunction the court ordered as part of its legal battle with Epic Games
The lawsuit focuses on the recent Apple vs. Epic Games decision where Apple was found to be in contempt of court. Back in 2021, Apple was ordered to relax its anti-steering rules that prevent developers from directing customers to purchase options outside of the App Store. Because of appeals, Apple didn't have to comply until January 17, 2024, but when it did, Apple did so in a way that the court said was anticompetitive.
Apple forced developers to pay between 12 and 27 percent in commission when customers made a purchase through an app using an external payment link, which was an issue because developers also had to pay payment processors
Read full story at MacRumors…
IBM Thinks That Over a Billion New Applications Will Be Built With Gen AI : Here's How They'e Going to Help That Happen With Agentic AI
by Sean Michael Kerner
IBM details its plans to help enterprises to actually do more with AI, with an expanded set of agentic AI capabilities.
Enterprise AI in 2025 is moving from experimentation to implementation and deployments are evolving from AI assistants to AI agents. That's the primary theme of the IBM Think 2025 conference … At the event, IBM is announcing an extensive list of new enterprise AI services as well as enhancements to existing technologies to help move more enterprise AI efforts into real-world deployment. The core of IBM' updates are a series of updates for its watsonx platform that was first announced at Think 2023. At the Think 2024 event, the big theme was the introduction of orchestration and the ability to help enterprise build their own AI assistants. In 2025, AI assistants are table stakes and the conversation across the industry and in every enterprise is how to build, use and benefit from agentic AI.
Read full story at VentureBeat…
Tech Hiring Slows, Unemployment Rises, Jobs Report Shows
by Lucas Mearian
In April, the tech industry lost 214,000 positions as companies shifted toward AI roles and skills-based hiring amid economic uncertainty.
Although the nation's overall unemployment rate held steady in April, technology worker hiring slowed and unemployment rose markedly.
Tech sector companies reduced staffing by a net 7,000 positions in April, an analysis of data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed.
“Employers are no longer aggressively expanding their workforce, fewer individuals are leaving their jobs, and those who do are finding it challenging to re-enter the job market,” said Ger Doyle, U.S. Country Manager at employment firm ManpowerGroup. “This highlights a significant shift in labor market dynamics, where churn and confidence are low.”
Read full story at Computerworld…
In Utilities
Arizona Explores Use of Small “Nuke-Boxes” to Provide Power to Giant Tech Companies
by JImmy Magahern
Arizona utilities are winding up for more nuclear power, but energy-hungry tech companies have grander plans: private mini-reactors beyond regulatory reach.
Summary
Greater Phoenix is the third-fastest-growing U.S. data center hub, with tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta acquiring land for AI server farms projected to consume electricity equivalent to 4.4 million homes by 2030. Arizona utilities, backed by a $900 million grant, are exploring nuclear power expansion, including small modular reactors (SMRs).
House Bill 2774 proposes allowing data centers to install SMRs without environmental or zoning reviews, sparking controversy. While supporters see economic benefits, critics highlight unproven technology, safety risks, and environmental concerns, favoring solar over nuclear solutions.
Read full story at Phoenix Mag…
The Solar Backlash and How Developers Are Responding
by Tom Kenning
Tom Kenning investigates the scale of local opposition to solar projects and the measures developers are employing to win back support.
In many regions, growing local opposition has become one of the biggest hurdles facing utility PV developers. In the first of five PV Tech Premium articles this week on opposition to solar projects, Tom Kenning investigates the scale of the issue and the measures developers are employing to win back community support.
Despite broad public support for solar energy, local opposition to large-scale solar farms is on the rise across the UK, Europe and the US. Once seen as a straightforward win for decarbonisation efforts, solar developments are now facing increasing scrutiny, with concerns ranging from landscape aesthetics and agricultural land use to fears about property values and environmental impact.
Read full story at PVTECH…
Trump Proposes Slashing DOE Budget by $19.3B
by Diana DiGangi
The president proposed making deep cuts to Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The White House's 2026 budget proposal, released Friday, seeks to cut $19.3 billion from the Department of Energy's budget by making deep reductions to Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Compared to 2025 enacted funding levels, the budget proposal cuts around $15.2 billion of DOE's IIJA funding, $2.6 billion from its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, $1.1 billion from its Office of Science, and $389 million from the Office of Environmental Management.
Read full story at UtilituDive…