FEATURES

• DNA Becomes Routine in Crime-Solving
• By: John Buntin

• Police and prosecutors in Denver use DNA to close cases that once seemed unsolvable. But is the forensic tool too efficient?

• Sensors Make Cities Smarter
• By: Zach Patton

• In the not too distant future, cameras and sensors will empower officials to instantly monitor constantly changing dynamics.

• Greening Historic Buildings
• By: Tina Trenkner

• Older and historic buildings are primed to go green and stay that way.

• Taxing Services to Ease Budget Woes
• By: Josh Goodman

• From armored cars to hot air balloons, taxing services is on the rise.

• Waste Not
• By: John Buntin
• Elkridge, Md.'s material recovery facility sorts 65 tons of recyclable material per hour

DEPARTMENTS

• Ground-Level Engagement
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Tax season is a good time to examine how citizens interact with government.

POLITICS+ POLICY

• Axing the Taxman
• By: Josh Goodman

• With budgets being cut left and right, is it wise to let go of tax collectors?

• Is 'Sexting' a Crime?
• By: Josh Goodman

• With today's cellphones' multimedia messaging abilities, where do we draw the line?

• A Vote for Appointed Offices
• By: Josh Goodman

• Should public officials be elected or appointed into their roles?

• Kansas Democrats' Best Case Scenario
• By: Josh Goodman

• Democratic state party officials pin their hopes on two candidates this political year.

• The Looming Infrastructure Crisis
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• Financial, policy and political problems are hurting efforts to fix our infrastructure.

• Guns on Campus
• By: Tina Trenkner

• Could bills allowing faculty members to carry guns change college campus gun prohibitions?

• Losing Its Luster
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau

• Are Energy Star products always the most efficient?

• Grading Tobacco Control
• By: Jessica Mulholland

• A new report fails federal and state governments on tobacco control.

• Airport Economics
• By: Alex Marshall
• Big city airports need federal regulations to help weather airline instability.

• From Canals to Computers
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Water power from Holyoke, Mass.'s surrounding canals will eventually power an $80 million high performance computing center.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Policing the Police
• By: Jonathan Walters

• Citizen oversight boards may be the most common way, but they aren't the most effective.

• An Unproductive Bump
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• During layoffs, the effect of 'bumping rights' on the workplace is more than demoralizing.

• The Innobucks Start Here
• By: Steve Towns
• A small Texas town has turned civic participation into an online game, complete with virtual currency.

• New Pension Math
• By: Girard Miller
• Nationwide, public officials scramble to change new-hire benefits formulas.

• The Wave of Influence
• By: John Buntin

• Florida state climatologist David Zierden is also an activist.

Training Opportunities

• Outsmarting the Social Services Fraudster
• Learn how IBM InfoSphere Identity Insight helps social services organizations reduce time and labor for caseload management, comply with new regulations fast and cost-efficiently and identify fraudulent behavior rapidly to stop it before it occurs.
• A Safer Public Through Advanced Analytics
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• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality