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BRIEF: Concord: Smartphone app for reporting graffiti and other nuisances available [Contra Costa Times](Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 02--CONCORD -- A smartphone app to report unsightly graffiti, abandoned vehicles and deep potholes to the city is now available. Residents may download "Concord Civic Hero" for iPhones and mobile phones that use the Android operating system. San Ramon-based technology company Accela has launched a yearlong trial of Civic Hero, an app that allows users to file a request for service from their smart phones and track its progress until the complaint has been resolved. Using geo-tracking, Civic Hero automatically identifies the location of the issue and then routes the report directly to the city department responsible for fixing it. The company says the app will save residents time because they won't have to figure out which city department to contact and will streamline the process for taking care of service requests. In addition to potholes, abandoned vehicles and graffiti, the list of 20 to 25 issues that will be available on the app in Concord also includes tree maintenance, trash removal, nuisance animals, leaking fire hydrants and junk-ridden property. Lisa P. White covers Concord and Pleasant Hill. Contact her at 925-943-8011. Follow her at Twitter.com/lisa_p_white. ___ (c)2014 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) Visit the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) at www.contracostatimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |