http://www.governing.com/authors/rss/rss/?a=87483762 Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING.. http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/Issues-to-Watch.html The nation's political map has turned blue, but state budgets have gone decidedly into the red. The Democrats enjoy a more than 850-seat edge in... http://www.governing.com/topics/economic-dev/Radical-Renewal.html At the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, you can pick up a gyro from Holy Land Grocery or, if you prefer, sushi and bubble tea... http://www.governing.com/topics/economic-dev/The-Skyways-The-Limit.html There's something odd about Camille's Sidewalk Café at 150 S. 5th Street in Minneapolis: It isn't anywhere near the sidewalk. Instead, Camille's is on the second... http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/Minneapolis-Speedway.html John Chiglo is looking up from the banks of the Mississippi River at a huge ivory monolith. It's the new I-35W bridge, built on... http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/More-Bridge-for-Your.html After a painful period of price inflation, the cost of concrete, steel and asphalt is dropping. So as states begin spending their stimulus checks from... http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/The-Second-Best-Job.html Eliot Spitzer of New York styled himself a steamroller, an uncompromising politician who preferred intimidation over negotiation. Mike Beebe of Arkansas is a behind-the-scenes dealmaker... http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/Uneven-Stimulus.html The feds are dumping piles of stimulus dollars on all 50 states, but when you look behind the 11-digit numbers, some interesting disparities emerge. Through subtle... http://www.governing.com/topics/technology/Unscripted-Ending.html Every Monday evening for more than a decade in Portage, Indiana, Gordon Bloyer stirred up trouble. The middle-aged, mustachioed Bloyer used his 6:30 p.m. television... http://www.governing.com/topics/energy-env/Shades-of-Greywater.html Laura Allen is no one's idea of an unrepentant lawbreaker. But under California's state plumbing code, that's exactly what she is. Allen, a soft-spoken elementary... http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/Second-Chance-in-San.html For a few months in 2005, people in San Antonio were talking about Julián Castro as the Hispanic Barack Obama. The city councilman, educated at... http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/The-Price-of-Prevention.html Woody Allen once described death as "a very effective way of cutting down on your expenses." In the past decade, states all over the country... http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/Three-Tracks-to-Vegas.html The federal stimulus package provides $8 billion for high-speed rail--and a lot of tough questions. As states fight for this pot of money, they'll have to... http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/Pushing-the-Envelope.html When his state holds its primaries later this month, Bill Bradbury will be in charge of the details. That's part of his role as secretary... http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/A-Dental-Scandal.html The death of Deamonte Driver shocked the country. Deamonte, a 12-year-old from suburban Prince George's County, Maryland, died in February 2007 when bacteria from an abscessed... http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/A-Government-Adrift.html One day this June, a group of state agency managers came to Governor Mark Sanford with a pitch. They wanted to raise the projected growth...