Russell Nichols

Recent Articles

• Governments Experiment With Risk-Free Financing
• Nov 30, 2011
• Massachusetts may be the first state to use social impact bonds, a unique model that started in the U.K. for financing social programs.
• 1 Comments

• Georgia Overhauls Its Mental Health System
• Sep 30, 2011
• Georgia is the latest state to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to move mental health patients out of hospitals and into the community.
• 14 Comments

• A Failing National Mental Health System
• Sep 30, 2011
• In 2006, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) graded states' mental health-care systems. The national average was a D. In a follow-up three years later, that average didn't change.

• The Georgia Mental Health Deal
• Sep 30, 2011
• Under the agreement with the Justice Department, Georgia will end new admissions to state mental hospitals and develop assertive community treatment, intensive care management, supported housing and supported employment programs to serve 9,000 people with mental illness over the next four years.
• 2 Comments

• Curiosity's Mars Landing Highlights State Space Race
• Aug 31, 2011
• The successful landing of NASA’s rover Curiosity on the surface of Mars is a reminder that America’s space exploration program is in a state of transition.

• Cambridge, Mass.: Space Center That Wasn't
• Aug 31, 2011
• In the 1960s, Cambridge, Mass., was all set to launch NASA's electronics hub -- until the hub was relocated to Houston.

• California Nonprofits Target Amazon with Boycott
• Aug 17, 2011
• A coalition of social welfare groups urges Californians to cancel Amazon accounts until the online retailer starts collecting state sales taxes.
• 9 Comments

• Can California Learn from China's High-Speed Rail System?
• Aug 3, 2011
• California's high-speed rail project suffers another blow as federal cuts threaten its future. Can a trip to China help legislators put the project on the right track?
• 6 Comments

• Do-or-Die Scenario Threatens California's Redevelopment Agencies
• Jul 19, 2011
• To save redevelopment agencies, cities and organizations have two bleak choices: sue or pony up $1.7 billion.
• 3 Comments

• Could South California Be The 51st State?
• Jul 12, 2011
• Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone believes that the state is “ungovernable” and proposes that 13 conservative counties split from California.
• 8 Comments

• Cloud Computing Is No Easy Fix
• Jun 30, 2011
• Companies have been pitching the cloud as a virtual field of dreams that can help make storage issues and server problems disappear. But is that true?

• Attack on 'No Child Left Behind' Underway
• Jun 30, 2011
• In opposing the strict federal education law, state education leaders seek to take control by defying requirements.
• 3 Comments

• In California, Violent Video Game Law Goes Down
• Jun 28, 2011
• In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court shot down a California law, which bans the sale of violent video games to minors.

• Should California Kill the Death Penalty to Save Billions?
• Jun 21, 2011
• On the heels of a comprehensive study about the huge price tag on California's death row, one state senator proposes to abolish the death penalty once and for all.
• 2 Comments

• Is California’s Three Strikes Law Due for a Change Up?
• Jun 17, 2011
• Stanford University lawyers gear up with a political consultant to pitch a reform initiative for one of the harshest sentencing laws in the nation.
• 3 Comments