Features

• Wilder's Last Crusade
• By: Rob Gurwitt
• Virginia's ex-governor has made a career out of accomplishing the unexpected. He is betting he can do it one more time as mayor of a proud but messed-up city.

• The Politics of Preschool
• By: Christopher Conte
• Most states are sold on the benefits of universal preschool, but limited funding may compromise its quality and availability.

• Power Alignment
• By: Christopher Swope
• Four Western states agree to back a "superhighway" for electricity.

• Dock Shock
• By: Zach Patton
• The competition for federal grants pits the security concerns of small ports against big ones and leaves all of them short of what they say they need.

• Opening the Mail
• By: Ellen Perlman
• When is an e-mail like a phone call--and when is it a public record or a secret meeting?

• Stranded Seniors
• By: Christopher Swope
• Suburban life revolves around the car. When elderly residents are no longer able to drive, getting around gets complicated.

Up Front

• Border Wars
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• Immigration used to be considered strictly a federal issue. But it's heating up in legislatures all over the country.

• Local Avenger
• By: Rob Gurwitt
• Todd Smith has declared war against the red tape his state imposes on county government.

• Be a Ref, Give a Kidney, Save a Bundle
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Every legislator has a list of constituents who need a break

• A Brake on Breaks?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• States still like giving tax subsidies to big corporations, but they get nervous when their localities do it.

• White-Collar Blues
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Public employee unions have suffered setbacks, but they're not as weak as they sometimes claim to be.

• Sagging in Sacramento
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Somewhere between last year and this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger forgot how to focus.

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• By: Alan Greenblatt

• Curbing Parking
• By: Alan Ehrenhalt
• Local zoning laws mandate parking spaces as if empty lots were a virtue.

The Business of Government

• Survivor's Guide
• By: Alex Marshall
• It's federal, state and local governments--not individuals or even companies--that determine if a transportation idea sinks or swims.

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• By: Alex Marshall

• Hurricane Hubris
• By: Ellen Perlman
• Evacuating residents from the path of a storm is often a frustrating task for emergency officials.

• Portfolio Pressures
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• A Regular Way to Run a Pension Fund

• Splish Splash
• By: Christopher Swope
• A City Sees a New Way To Keep Kids Cool

• Price Shopper: Vermont Mandates Details on Drug Prices
• By: Zach Patton

• Rx Data on Demand
• By: Ellen Perlman
• A computer system helps reduce pain-killer abuse.

• Easy Ride: California Will Figure Out Your Taxes For You
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• As tax season rolled around for Californians this past April, residents got an unexpected present from Uncle Sam: a pre-prepared state tax return.

• Topping Out
• By:
• State and local sales tax rates inch higher

• Keeping the Outdoors Open
• By: Tom Arrandale
• The opportunities for Americans to explore those places in the natural world that molded their country may be dwindling.

• The Stimulator
• By: William Fulton
• President Bush's proposal to change the way urban grants work raises questions about local economic development that have been ignored for too long.

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