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

• Outsmarting the Social Services Fraudster
• Learn how IBM InfoSphere Identity Insight helps social services organizations reduce time and labor for caseload management, comply with new regulations fast and cost-efficiently and identify fraudulent behavior rapidly to stop it before it occurs.
• A Safer Public Through Advanced Analytics
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• Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality