Features

• Mayor in the Middle
• By: Rob Gurwitt

• LA's mayor grew up in politics as a left-wing activist. But he's governing from the center. He doesn't have much choice.

• Paying for Promises
• By: Jonathan Walters

• After the shock of the big numbers, states and localities are finding ways to deal with the costs of their retirees' health care.

• An Indelicate Balance
• By: Ellen Perlman

• Virginia is looking for partners -- and their resources -- to overhaul its IT systems.

• HIV Apathy
• By: Zach Patton

• New drugs have changed HIV from a terminal to a chronic illness. To counter complacency, health officials are pushing to make testing more widespread.

• Rough Sea's
• By: Penelope Lemov
• There's a new and higher level of strain in the already-tense relationship between GASB and state and local officials.

• Disasters Unlimited
• By: Christopher Swope
• Insurance companies see a potential Katrina almost everywhere they look. And they want homeowners to pay in advance.

• Guest Quarter: Retirees and Realities
• By: Girard Miller
• Wrestling with Benefit Issues

Up Front

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• By: Girard Miller

• Rescue Mission
• By: Rob Gurwitt
• Florida's chaotic social service agency may be ungovernable. But Bob Butterworth is giving it a shot.

• Middle-Class Squeeze
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• It isn't just the poorest urban neighborhoods that need help.

• The Sale Goes On
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Indiana's governor still likes privatization--even if the voters don't.

• Granholm's Dilemma
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• When it comes to fiscal problems, Michigan is in a league of its own.

• The Post-Earmark Era
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Lots of juicy local plums won't be ripening this year.

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• By: Alan Greenblatt

• Smash Hit
• By: Ellen Perlman
• It's not just for the young and hip. State and local IT officials are tapping into a cool Google tool to create maps with new, improved uses.

• Senator Warner's Posse
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• A new federal law gives the military a domestic function it hasn't had before.

• Running a Railroad
• By: Alex Marshall
• Its schedules are undependable, prices high and on-board service of middling quality. Yet demand for Amtrak's inter-city service grows.

• Newsom Wins Some, Loses Some
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• San Francisco's mayor is popular, but his enemies are persistent.

The Business of Government

• A Bolder Boulder
• By: Tom Arrandale

• EPA funding for research is shrinking, and findings are being denigrated.

• Stuck at Home
• By: William Fulton
• A vibrant local economy needs a good supply of housing for sale at lots of price points. But that's not what's happening right now.

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• By: William Fulton

• The Winningest Website
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• Michigan breaks out of the pack with a world-class online presence.

• Car Spotting: Tapping Tech for Parking Problems
• By: Josh Goodman

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• By: Josh Goodman

• Risk Relief: Indiana Aims to Insure Good Health
• By: Penelope Lemov

• The New Digital Divide
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Electronic billboards are attention-grabbers. Some people argue they distract drivers.

• The Muni Market's Bumpy Year
• By: Josh Goodman
• 2006 had its ups and downs--although it was mostly positive for issuers and negative for some underwriters.

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