Features

• A Roof To Start With
• By: Christopher Swope
• Cities are moving homeless people straight from the street into permanent housing--no questions asked. It's controvesial, but it's showing results.

• Taking The Heat
• By: Christopher Swope
• States are ponying up millions to keep homes warm.

• Defending Against A Deluge
• By: Tom Arrandale
• The disaster in New Orleans has prompted a nationwide examination of man-made levees, as well as interest in restoring natural floodplains.

• That's Agritainment!
• By: Ellen Perlman
• The simple life is becoming an economic showcase for rural states.

• The Katrina Breakdown
• By: Donald F. Kettl, Jonathan Walters
• Coordination and communication problems between levels of government must be addressed before the next disaster strikes.

• Schoolmaker
• By: John Buntin
• Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson can charter a new school anytime he wants. That gives him lots of power--and lots of headaches as well.

Up Front

• Lost and Found
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• States are doing a better job of tracking the children in their care.

• Rustbelt Dilemma
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Nobody knows more about Buffalo than Byron Brown, its new mayor. One thing he knows is that revival won't come easily.

• Topeka's Gamble
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Mired in stagnation, Kansas' capital city is in a mood for reform.

• Born Leaders?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• It's not easy to look good in moments of crisis, but some public officials have a knack for it.

• Tax Revolt Turns Tepid
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Raising taxes isn't proving fatal to most politicians who risked doing it.

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• By: Alan Greenblatt

• The Patronage Trap
• By: Alan Ehrenhalt
• Patronage and hiring violations are facts of life in almost all governments.

The Business of Government

• Having Their Say: Baltimore Agency Wins Some Breathing Room
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau

• The Gas Tax's Last Gasp
• By: Alex Marshall

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• By: Alex Marshall

• The Little Deal That Could Be Big
• By:
• A union trades retiree health care for a raise.

• Finite Funding: Vermont Accepts A Medicaid Cap
• By: Zach Patton

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• By: Zach Patton

• Mixed Smoke Signals
• By: Zach Patton
• The patchwork of local laws on lighting up can be confusing.

• Creating A Bond: Chicago Keeps The Little Guy in The Loop
• By: Josh Goodman
• Chicago is bringing municipal bonds to the masses.

• Bond Bits: Ill Winds Aftermath
• By:

• The Sales Tax Goes Online
• By: Alan Greenblatt

• Transmission Blues
• By: Tom Arrandale
• In energy-rich states, the federal government's response to the energy crunch is looking more than a little ominous.

• A Season to Swarm
• By: William Fulton
• Policy wonks are having a field day with creative ideas to rebuild the Gulf Coast. But action is likely to be the same old-same old.

Training Opportunities

• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality
• This white paper describes how developing competencies in five key area can help public safety agencies more effectively do their jobs in the face of extremely important and difficult sets of issues.
• Crime Prediction and Prevention


• FutureStructure: A New Framework