FEATURES

• Wage Learners
• By: Zach Patton

• Some big-city school systems are experimenting with paying students to get good grades. Are cash incentives a ticket to college or a deterrent to learning for its own sake?

• Job Freedom
• By: John Buntin
• Can the lessons of welfare reform be applied to the prison system?

• Six Routes to a Toll Road
• By: Brendan Schlauch

• As business models proliferate, most new highways aren't public or private but somewhere in between.

• Drained
• By: Josh Goodman

• Bogged down in the high finances of a sewer system, Alabama's biggest county is on the verge of bankruptcy.

• Bandwidth on the Bayou
• By: Ellen Perlman

• A Louisiana community wanted to build its own high-speed network to attract business. Pretty soon, it was stuck in court.

DEPARTMENTS

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• By: Ellen Perlman

POLITICS + POLICY

• A Call to Order
• By: Alan Greenblatt

• A new package of rules should bring a modicum of reform to New York's legislature.

• Taming of a Deficit
• By: Alan Greenblatt

• San Diego still has its fiscal woes, but they're no longer scandalous.

• Mind Your Meters
• By: Alan Greenblatt

• Parking-meter privatization has created a lot of headaches for Chicago. Mayor Richard Daley insists the deal will prove smart in the long run.

• A Succession Question
• By: Alan Greenblatt

• After Mark Sanford's affair, can South Carolina Republicans hold the governorship?

• Quittin' Time In Colorado
• By: Josh Goodman

• What's so terrible about the Colorado legislature that is causing everyone to decamp?

• Defining Prevention
• By: Penelope Lemov

• 'Preventive care' means different things, each with its own price.

• Opening Up Medicaid
• By: Penelope Lemov

• States could be at fiscal peril under some health care reform proposals.

• The Poisoned Bill
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• State budget cuts are undermining national health reform.

• Beating the Spread
• By: Josh Goodman

• Despite big-league pressure, Delaware legalizes betting on sports.

• Green at City Scale
• By: Linda Baker

• Portland explores how to create 'eco-districts.'

• Traveling At Good Speed
• By: Alex Marshall
• Transportation policy shouldn’t be reduced to average commuting times.

• Urban Harvest
• By: Christopher Swope

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Lean Legacy
• By: Jonathan Walters

• Iowa's experiment with charter agencies ended when Governor Tom Vilsack left office. But efficiency efforts live on.

• Saving the Nest Egg
• By: Girard Miller
• It’s time to restore balance to the funding of pension plans.

• Technology for Tough Times
• By: Zach Patton

• State and local leaders are counting on information technology to help them navigate these difficult times.

• Caution: Outsourcing Ahead
• By: Ellen Perlman
• Another big statewide IT project hits speed bumps. So does the CIO.

• Bidding Boards Goodbye
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• Boards and commissions can be expensive—whether or not they meet.

• New Alaska Governor Faces Difficult Year
• By: Josh Goodman

• Sean Parnell has a reputation for being low-key, open and collegial.

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