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

• Health Care Reform After the Decision
• In this Mercer Report, you’ll learn how different organizations plan to tackle the new requirements of ACA and discover where most employer concerns are focused, who expects to be hardest hit, and how different health plans and Medicaid may impact overall costs.
• Crime Prediction and Prevention


• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality