Tech Week: Comcast Thwarting WA Broadband Efforts, Airport Cyberattack in CT & More

Comcast, Telecoms Disrupting Broadband Development in WA

Washington’s Public Works Board, one of three bodies in the state that award broadband grants, is considering changing its objection process to require objectors to provide more evidence to support their claims. Public utilities say their efforts to make use of the $400 million in mostly federal funds the state has set aside for broadband development have been blocked by Comcast and other private telecommunications companies with spurious claims about service offerings and promises of service expansion. (CROSSCUT [SEATTLE])

CT Airport Targeted by Hackers

Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, north of Hartford, was the target of a cyberattack last week. But the Connecticut Airport Authority said the distributed denial-of-service attack on the airport’s website caused no disruption of operations. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Unionization Vote at NY Amazon Facility Leaning Pro-Labor

As of last Thursday (3/31) the majority of ballots counted in the unionization vote at an Amazon fulfillment center on New York’s Staten Island favored unionizing, 717 to 581. If that trend hods with the thousands of ballots that likely remain the facility would become the company’s first to support unionization. (CNBC)

WA Regulators Say Amazon Creating Unsafe Workplace

Amazon has been cited and fined by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries four times in the past year for alleged violations of the state’s workplace safety laws. The company has appealed three of the citations and intends to appeal the fourth as well. (SEATTLE TIMES)

VT House Approves $866M Transportation Package

Vermont’s House passed a transportation spending bill (HB 736) and omnibus state appropriations bill (HB 740) that together would provide $866 million for transportation infrastructure development. That sum includes $22 million in incentives to reduce the cost of buying electric vehicles and $19 million for electric vehicle charging stations. (VT DIGGER)

OR to Map Out Chip Industry Development Plan

Oregon’s new semiconductor industry task force met for the first time last week. The group plans to establish an “initial roadmap” this spring for how to attract more semiconductor research and manufacturing to the state. (OREGONIAN [PORTLAND])

Anti-Tech Regulation Group Bankrolled by Big Tech

The Connected Commerce Council is a trade group based in Washington, D.C. that claims to lobby against aggressive regulation of big tech companies on behalf of small businesses. But the group’s financial support comes entirely from tech giants Amazon and Google. (CNBC)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK