FEATURES

• Rahm Emanuel Takes on Chicago
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Chicago's Richard M. Daley is a tough act to follow. But Rahm Emanuel is determined to make his own mark.

• Six Ideas for Fixing the Nation's Infrastructure Problems
• By: Russell Nichols, Ryan Holeywell
• Here's how to plan, fund and make a safer, more efficient transportation system.

• High-Speed Rail Is Not Dead
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• A true high-speed rail network may be years away. But despite some setbacks, plans for fast trains are moving ahead around the country.

• Ending Medicaid As We Know It
• By: John Buntin
• Is Medicaid in its current form sustainable? And if not, is welfare reform the right model for change?

• The Dark Side of Awards and Accountability
• By: Ken Miller
• Contributor Ken Miller draws from his latest book to explain how management-by-fear accountability systems rarely work and produce devastating side effects.

DEPARTMENTS

• A Real Tea Party Moment?
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• State and local governments want to dump a costly tax provision that would bring more costs at a most inopportune time.

POLITICS + POLICY

• States Roll Back Early Voting, Enforce Voter ID Laws
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Democrats complain that GOP legislators are seeking to disenfranchise vulnerable groups of voters. Republicans say they're merely protecting the sanctity of the ballot.

• Fixing Bridges ... Or Not
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• The lack of money for bridge repairs is symptomatic of a larger problem: Transportation projects in general are going to slip behind.

• Pink Slips Affect the Future of the Teaching Profession
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Two-thirds of all school districts are planning to lay off teachers, leading to concerns that young people will shy away from entering a suddenly less-than-secure profession.

• Is It OK to Text While Lawmaking?
• By: Caroline Cournoyer
• The legality of texting while lawmaking has been cause for debate, but Texas may be the first state to ban the practice altogether.

• The Policy Battle Behind Chocolate Milk
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• As schools opt for healthier lunch options, governments are pitted against the powerful dairy industry.

• The Governors' Guy in D.C.
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• The new executive director of the National Governors Association, Dan Crippen, has big shoes to fill. Luckily, he has years of experience working with governors.

• Banning Teenagers from Tanning Beds
• By: Jessica Mulholland
• At the recommendation of doctors and in spite of the tanning industry, California may be the first state to set a precedent on tanning beds.

• Planning for Electric Cars
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• The electric grid could become overloaded with increased use of electric cars. Public utilities in Austin and Los Angeles have already begun tackling the issue.

• Improving Ports to Keep Up with the Global Economy
• By: Alex Marshall
• With the expansion of the Panama Canal, states and cities are debating whether to spend money deepening channels and expanding facilities to handle new ships.

• Drivers Battle with Bikers for Road Space
• By: Tod Newcombe
• When New York City replaced a car lane with a bike lane, it exposed the tricky problem of adding another form of transportation infrastructure to a city.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Homeownership with a Happy Ending
• By: John O'Leary
• Massachusetts helps marginal earners become first-time homeowners.

• What's a Pension Perk Worth?
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• Employers can't pinpoint what the real value of retiree benefits is to them.

• Preparing for Cloud Computing Failures
• By: Steve Towns
• Moving to the cloud doesn't relieve agencies from ensuring public services and programs continue to operate in spite of technological hiccups.

• Taxing Municipal Bonds
• By: Girard Miller
• A controversial plan to tax state and local debt could rob states and localities of millions.

• Orange Beach, Ala., Mayor Works to Bring Tourists Back
• By: Tina Trenkner
• Mayor Tony Kennon has pushed for bigger beach cleanup efforts, faster settlement of claims and larger marketing budgets to bring visitors back to Alabama's Gulf Coast.

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