• The Feds' Loss is State and Local Governments' Gain
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   April 19, 2013
• Public approval of state governments is at its highest since 2008, while views of Washington have plummeted to an all-time low, according to a new survey.

• Has Pension Reform Gone Too Far?
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   April 19, 2013
• Faced with growing pension gaps, states and localities in recent years have reacted with sweeping reforms.
• 11 Comments

• Colorado Wants Its Own Aerial Firefighters
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 19, 2013
• Most states rely on federal crews to fight fires from the air. But with those resources often stretched, Colorado wants to become the second state to respond to such emergencies on their own.

• Iowa's Generous Employee Benefits, Winning Audits, and the Side Effect of Furloughs
• BY: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene   |   April 18, 2013
• Plus: the misconception about failure and more management news
• 2 Comments

• Public Workers, Secret Pensions
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   April 18, 2013
• Under an unusual arrangement dating back to 1948, information about the Boston-area transit agency's pension system doesn't have to be made public. That may soon change, and it ought to.
• 3 Comments

• Suburbs Suffered Most Job Losses During Recession, Report Finds
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   April 18, 2013
• The sprawl of jobs outward from downtown areas slowed during the recession. View data for 100 metro areas.
• 1 Comments

• Should Doctors Help the Terminally Ill Die?
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 18, 2013
• Bills to regulate and prohibit physician-assisted suicide failed this session in Montana, but the debate continues nationwide.
• 9 Comments

• Our Dangerous, Expensive System of Childbirth
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   April 18, 2013
• Countries that rely heavily on midwives and home births have lower infant and maternal death rates than we do, and our numbers are getting worse. Isn't it time to rethink our reliance on hospitals and surgical interventions?
• 5 Comments

• Infrastructure at the Speed of Light
• BY: Stephen Goldsmith   |   April 17, 2013
• It took just a year for Indiana officials to put together a major public-private bridge project. How did they do it?

• Managing Through Endless Fiscal Uncertainty
• BY: Philip Joyce   |   April 17, 2013
• States and localities are emerging from the Great Recession to face a "new normal" of scarcity. How will managers deal with it?

• The Benefits of Fingerprinting the Homeless
• BY: Brian Heaton   |   April 16, 2013
• New Jersey is expanding a local program that helps agencies track homeless services more accurately and in less time, increasing their chances of getting the federal funding they need.

• Chronic and Veteran Homelessness on the Decline
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   April 16, 2013
• Despite some troubling economic conditions, chronic and veteran homelessness both dropped by more than 6 percent last year, according to a new report.
• 1 Comments

• Michigan Moves to Regulate Mixed Martial Arts
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 16, 2013
• Following the death of a fighter, Michigan is the latest state to consider rules to protect participants in amateur MMA matches.

• Study: Citizen Budgeting Related to Better Outcomes
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   April 15, 2013
• Inviting public comment early in the budget process, and doing so in multiple ways, is closely associated with better performance outcomes, according to a new study.
• 7 Comments

• Which State, Local Grants Got Cut in Obama's Budget?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 12, 2013
• The president's new budget proposal increases total federal grant funding to states and localities, but some programs are on the chopping block.
• 1 Comments