More people want to participate in city council meetings during the pandemic and some cities are making the needed upgrades to support the demand.

The civic tech group's local chapters have been developing apps and other tools to help people navigate through the economic hardships of the pandemic.

Attendance numbers of public meetings in San Francisco and Seattle are up, according to numbers provided by their broadcasting stations, as people obey stay-at-home orders and millions file for unemployment.

Code for America founder Jennifer Pahlka is succeeded by Amanda Renteria, former chief of staff to Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

CivicSmart, which sells parking meters and software to cities around the world, appears to have paid a ransom after some of its files were published by hackers.

The National Science Foundation and departments of Homeland Security and Energy are backing the $9 million effort to develop resiliency solutions for local governments

Pahlka, who previously announced the organization's search for a new executive director, will remain a consultant and member of its board of directors.

Panelists at the Consumer Electronics Show suggested cities hire people — which they referred to as "lookers" — to manage civic-tech pilot projects.

After seven years of projects, often involving connecting government with private-sector expertise, the city's chief innovation officer is moving on.