Residents of Charleston, South Carolina have a new and convenient way to pay for parking when out and about downtown. The city recently revamped their parking meters with smart card readers. All of the roughly 1,800 parking meters are outfitted with the new technology.

As part of Pittsburgh’s new smart card fare system for public transit, Port Authority buses are being equipped with new fare collection boxes that will work with the new technology. While the smart cards won’t be fully functional until late 2010 due to tests being run, the new fare collection boxes will still accept cash. The Pittsburgh transit agency wanted to begin upgrading the boxes now, in order to be prepared for the new smart cards, which will be rechargeable passes that can be swiped at the fare box.

Chicago Transit Authority is launching a new program that allows users to ride CTA buses and rails and participate in the I-GO Car Sharing program all using one smart card. The CTA has combined with I-GO Car Sharing, an affiliate of a Chicago-based non-profit, in an effort to promote the use of public transportation. The new smart card travel combo provides additional transportation options for Chicago commuters and will help to reduce the impact on the environment by contributing to limiting the number of cars that are on the road at one time.

Armed guards at secure buildings weren't enough for LaSalle county, IL administrators - a recent decision has made it so that every coutny employee in the county's courthouse will be required to wear an ID badge and lanyard at all times during work hours. Members of the Courthouse and Jail committee designed the policy in February, and while the kinks of the program are still being ironed out, county employees can expect to have their ID photos soon.

Jefferson County employees in Beaumont, TX, are getting used to carrying their new employee ID cards. The cards, the first phase of a new county security plan passed last August, have a data chip (like the HID iClass) inside the card that stores personal data like name, date of hire, and departmental information.

The homeless citizens of Oklahoma City may have more efficient and helpful services in the near future, thanks to an ID card developed by the directory of the city's Homeless Alliance. The ID card program, called the Homeless Management Information System, will store the demographic information of homeless people who commonly use city services.

A court employee in Cebu City, Philippines was reprimanded and gave a public apology recently. His crime? Not truancy, nor slacking off on the job, or supply theft - but forgetting to wear his ID badge. All workers in the Philippines are required to have a publicly displayed ID badge at all times, identifying who they are, who they work for, and why they are where they are at the time.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors recently enacted a piece of legislation that would provide ID cards to all residents of the city - a program designed to make San Francisco residents that are in the "social margins" (namely the homeless and immigrant populations) receive city services and help them gain bank accounts.

What's one of the most important things in disaster recovery? The natural response is to say to help - as much as possible and wherever needed. However, first responders - groups like fire fighters, police officers, medical personnel and the national guard, have recently struggled with responder tracking during major disasters like Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. Government officials struggle to locate, organize and effectively battle the crisis to which they are responding. First responders, who may quickly move from place to place and agency to agency in order to maximize efficiency and help, need to work and communicate quickly and focus as much as possible on the task at hand instead of the infrastructure of support.

Havana Country Club in Havana, Florida, has announced that golfers who wish to play on Havana's noted Executive courses will need to carry their ID for the Villages. The Villages, an exclusive retirement community located in north central Florida, has had problems with non-residents using the courses without permission.

Ah, the idyllic days of summer, where the days consist of mischief, little league games, playing with friends, and swimming at the town pool. Perfect, right? Maybe for kids - but parents can quickly get worried when they don't know where little Johnny or Suzie ran off to. The Shanklin Municipal Pool in Goshen, Indiana has instituted an ID card program which city officials hope will help prevent this.