• We have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up ... and get the ID they need. ... The state can’t fix that.
• Source: Stateline   |   Pennsylvania   |   September 21, 2012
• Pennsylvania state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who sponsored the state's voter ID law. Critics argue the law would suppress turnout among poor, elderly and minority voters who are less likely to own a photo ID.
• 5 Comments

• Whenever I was called a dictator, I always made sure they added the word benevolent in front of it.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Washington, D.C.   |   September 20, 2012
• Robert G. Flanders, Jr., the state receiver for Central Falls, R.I., which declared bankruptcy last year, speaking at Governing's Cost of Government summit. Flanders cut pension benefits for some retirees by more than 50 percent.

• I promise you, there will be lawsuits.
• Source: Politico   |   New York   |   September 19, 2012
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on his eventual decision to allow the controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing in the state. New York has been operating under a temporary moratorium on fracking until the state Department of Environmental Conservation completes its review of the issue.

• Getting the state and local financial system "right" is the key to achieving our nation's broader objectives of social cohesion and economic and political stability.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 18, 2012
• Robert D. Ebel, author of The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government Finance. in this month's Finance newsletter.

• Chubby kids may not outlive their parents.
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   Georgia   |   September 17, 2012
• One of the slogans from Georgia's controversial Strong4Life campaign to combat childhood obesity. A recent study found that campaigns that employ guilt and shame to motivate people to lose weight in some cases actually lead people to eat more.

• Colorado is known for many great things -- marijuana should not be one of them.
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   September 14, 2012
• Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a statement expressing his opposition to a November ballot measure that would legalize limited possession of marijuana for adults.

• There’s nothing to investigate. Do you investigate the kid who spray paints your mailbox?
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   September 13, 2012
• Mike Sullivan, spokesman for the Utah office that houses the state's health insurance exchange, which was recently hacked, but no criminal investigation will be conducted because it was "a pure act of graffiti" that resulted in blurred headlines and garbled words but no compromised personal data.

• I don't want to sound cavalier about it, but a strike is not the end of the world.
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   September 12, 2012
• Chicago Alderman Patrick O'Connor, who said the priority right now should be ending the city's first teacher strike in 25 years and not discussing the impact it will have on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's political reputation.

• I have to confess I’m boring enough to read things like Governing magazine.
• Source: The Weekly Standard   |   San Antonio   |   September 11, 2012
• San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, on where he gets job growth ideas.

• It’s a pretty serious issue if the states just let the federal government tell us what to do all the time. We’re not trying to pick a fight here.
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   September 10, 2012
• Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, who refused to restart jobless benefits to seasonally unemployed teachers and bus drivers even though U.S. labor officials threatened to cut the state's federal funding.

• How can we tell others how to transition to democracy when every year we deny nearly a million people from voting in our own capital????
• Source: @marionbarryjr   |   District of Columbia   |   September 7, 2012
• Washington, D.C., Councilmember Marion S. Barry, Jr., who took to Twitter during the Democratic National Convention to raise awareness about D.C. residents' lack of full representation in Congress.

• These sex traffickers are very creative. We need to be even more creative.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Texas   |   September 6, 2012
• Maria Trujillo, executive director of the Houston Rescue and Restoration Coalition, a nonprofit that helps human trafficking victims. The possibility of training cable installers or building inspectors to look for signs of human trafficking has been floated.

• I'm not like other governors. I'm not showing up to give a speech about myself. That was rampant at the Republican convention.
• Source: Hartford Courant   |   Connecticut   |   September 5, 2012
• Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who will speak at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, criticizing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
• 2 Comments

• There are few places that are getting any younger. We don’t want people, as they get older, to get more and more isolated.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 4, 2012
• Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP’s state and national group. To explore the impact of this generational shift through in-depth stories, data and interactive content, go to governing.com/generations.

• I guess you got your swagger back.
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Philadelphia   |   August 31, 2012
• Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, talking to rapper Jay-Z who will be performing at the Made in America music festival in the City of Brotherly Love this weekend.