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Philadelphia Hosts US Mayors For Discussion on Technology and Government

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A two-day summit with more than 30 mayors from across the country is underway in Philadelphia.  The topic:  technology and innovation.

Mayor Nutter welcomed his contemporaries as he winds down his one-year stint as president of the US Conference of Mayors.

Breakout sessions include how cities are opening their data to make government more accessible, and how cities should invest in technology infrastructure.

San Francisco's mayor, Ed Lee, chaired the main task force.

"How do we get more engagement from the public?" he asked the panel.

Take the web site Yelp, where people can check restaurant reviews.   Lee says the City of San Francisco now chimes in with updates on health inspections.

"Connecting the data of the health hygiene that we keep, and putting it to the eyes of users of Yelp, is an incredible match," he said today.

Among the mayors taking part in panel discussions are those of Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Providence, RI; Tallahassee, Fla.; Mesa, Ariz.; and Fremont, Calif.

The mayors were also getting out of the hotel to visit the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a 1,200-acre  campus that is home to more than 130 companies and 10,000 workers in the industrial, manufacturing, and R&D sectors.

Judging from the food disappearing from plates at the Westin Hotel, cheesesteak sampling was also a major activity.

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