FEATURES

• Health-Care Reform: Similar States, Different Views
• By: John Buntin

• States disagree on whether health-care reform will spark a boom - or lead to a colossal bust.

• Health Care for the Needy
• By: John Buntin

• Lacking a health-care system for the poorest of the poor, Montgomery, Ala., crafted a uniquely local solution.

• Southeastern Water Wars
• By: Josh Goodman

• Water supply limits in the region have led to threats of water poaching and calls for toilet rebates to meet the region's unquenchable thirst.

• Stemming the Tide of Homelessness
• By: Zach Patton

• Rapid re-housing might just be the answer to the nation's growing homelessness problem.

• Rushing to Pay for Education Reform
• By: Tina Trenkner

• States are clamoring for a slice of $4.35 billion for education reform. Will being first help them win?

• Keeping the Streets of America's Snowiest City Clean
• By: David Kidd
• There are places nationwide that get more snow, but among cities with populations greater than 100,000, Syracuse's snowfall is supreme.

DEPARTMENTS

• Taking Stock
• By: Alan Ehrenhalt
• Recalling 22 years of assessing the ebb and flow of states and localities.

Politics + Policy

• Reaching for a Tuition Tax?
• By: Josh Goodman

• Universities and hospitals are tax-exempt, and that costs cities money.

• Health Reform, Utah Style
• By: Josh Goodman

• Massachusetts and Utah have embraced health exchanges, but will Utah's work?

• Merging Historically Black Universities
• By: Josh Goodman

• Gov. Haley Barbour's proposal has more to do with the budget than race, but it's still part of the issue.

• A Candidate Takes on Taxes
• By: Josh Goodman

• Former U.S. Senator and Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee breaks with tradition.

• A Decade To Remember
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• 10 years, 10 highlights for federalism.

• Texting to Better Health
• By: Jessica Mulholland

• Patients want better access to care, even if they receive it via a text message.

• Smart Meter News: Utilities Controversy
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• Complaints about smart utility meters are on the rise.

• The Aughts: The Decade of Infrastructure
• By: Alex Marshall
• As the decade ends, there's little to cheer save a notable exception: infrastructure.

• Empty Lot Syndrome
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Cities explore temporary uses for vacant lots.

Problem Solver

• Driving Change: Go Big or Go Home
• By: John O'Leary
• Forget incremental improvement, create a team focused solely on change.

• Fatally-Flawed Mortality Statistics
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• Inaccurate information on death certificates impacts how states allocate health-care funds.

• Los Angeles Embraces Google's Gmail
• By: Steve Towns
• An innovative technology deal turns political for the Los Angeles City Council president.

• Furlough Fever
• By: Girard Miller
• Are four-day workweeks the beginning of a permanent trend or a passing phenomenon?

• San Francisco's Populist Public Defender
• By: John Buntin

• Jeff Adachi is a public defender loved by the public and feared by public officials.

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