FEATURES

• States Handing Off More Responsibilities to Cities
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• States are asking cities to take charge of more programs, but they may not provide enough support.

• Fend-for-Yourself Localism
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• In October 1987, the first-ever issue of Governing debuted with a cover story on how in 1980, power and responsibility shifted from the federal government to the state and local level.

• From the Archive: The New Federalism: Unplanned, Innovative and Here to Stay
• By: John Herbers
• State and local governments are fending for themselves in unprecedented and imaginative ways. Things will never be quite the same.

• States Struggle to Regulate the Bond Industry
• By: Russell Nichols
• While critics question the fairness of the bail bonds industry, proponents argue that its services save states money and keep defendants from fleeing.

• Does Government Work Require Government Employees?
• By: John Buntin
• Volunteers are taking on jobs once performed by public employees.

• The Rise of the Recall Election
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Angry voters are increasingly using recall elections to remove local leaders.

• Implementing Electronic Health Records in Doctors' Offices
• By: Jonathan Walters
• For e-health records to work, physicians need to be brought online.

DEPARTMENTS

• Can Texas Find a Future for a Third of its Workforce?
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Almost a third of the state's workforce is neither a knowledge worker or a service worker. How will the state train and create jobs for this sect of the workforce?

POLITICS + POLICY

• The CDBG Mobilization
• By: Zach Patton
• Mayors and county leaders are angrily and aggressively pushing back against proposed cuts against CDBG.

• States Attempt to Streamline Education
• By: Zach Patton
• Proposals in states like Washington and North Dakota aim to streamline education from pre-k to Ph.D.

• Lottery Revenues Not a Sure Bet
• By: Zach Patton
• The recent economic crisis suggests that state lotteries and other forms of gambling may not be the predictable cash cows they once were.

• States Considering Prize-Linked Savings Programs
• By: Tina Trenkner
• Credit unions want permission to award cash and prizes to customers who save.

• Bankruptcy's Bank Shot
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• What connects government default, short selling and union bashing?

• Wiretapping Internet Calls May Require New Law
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Police officials say the problems with tracking Internet phone calls are so prevalent that the federal government should step in.

• Health-Care Reform: To Implement or Not to Implement?
• By: Jessica Mulholland
• Many question health-care reform's status -- but it's still law, and likely will remain so.

• Pollution Prejudice Against the Poor
• By: Linda Baker
• Some critics charge that cap-and-trade plans discriminate against the poor.

• What to Call the Gas Tax: Not Just Semantics
• By: Alex Marshall
• Calling the gas tax a 'user fee' is logically and factually wrong.

• Seniors and the City
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Most experts agree little is being done to make cities more age-friendly, but some cities are taking steps.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Making Performance a Priority in Georgia
• By: Heather Kerrigan
• Performance measurement isn't a once-a-year event -- it's an ongoing process.

• Effectively Engaging the Public
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• There's more to keeping in touch with constituents than public hearings

• Trading Laptops for Smartphones
• By: Steve Towns
• The handheld device is proving handy for cities.

• The Power of No
• By: Girard Miller
• This is the time for state and local leaders to take a 'no new spending' pledge.

• New York State's Medicaid Director Suggests Cuts
• By: Tina Trenkner
• Jason Helgerson, formerly Wisconsin's Medicaid director, came to New York to help control costs.

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