FEATURES

• High-Speed Rail: Transit Solution or Fiscal Disaster?
• By: Josh Goodman
• California is racing to build an ambitious high-speed rail system. Some cities think it should slow down.

• Poverty Comes to the Suburbs
• By: Zach Patton

• Poverty is encroaching on suburban enclaves -- even the most affluent of them. Many are ill-equipped to meet the new social-service needs.

• Preventing Government PR Disasters
• By: Jonathan Walters

• Agencies caught in the eye of a scandal need a pre-plan for defusing the storm of media attention.

• Growing America: Demographics and Destiny
• By: Joel Kotkin

• With America expected to grow by 100 million people in the next 40 years, how will states and localities run a bigger, more diverse country?

• Protecting and Preserving the Tenderloin
• By: John Buntin
• Can police Chief George Gascón clean up this San Francisco district without pushing the poor out?

DEPARTMENTS

• Pothole Principles
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Preventing small problems from growing bigger takes on significance in today's economy.

POLITICS+ POLICY

• Dues and Don'ts
• By: Josh Goodman

• To help survive budget cuts, some governors are opting not to pay their National Governors Association dues.

• Small Bag Tax, Big Impact
• By: Josh Goodman
• The tax on disposable bags in the nation's capital has had a noteworthy impact.

• Counting Down the School Days
• By: Josh Goodman

• Could shortening school years be a pain-free way for school districts to save money?

• Nevada's Comeback Kid?
• By: Josh Goodman

• Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons may be wildly unpopular, but he may be re-elected come November.

• Education Reform is the New Game in Town
• By: Peter Harkness
• What's not to like about the Race to the Top? Plenty, it seems.

• Nullifying the Feds
• By: Heather Kerrigan

• Whether declaring sovereignty or denouncing federal authority, states are fighting hard for their rights.

• The Miami-Dade Diet
• By: Jessica Mulholland

• Health care won't cost less until people get healthy.

• Parks and Re-Cessation
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• Closing state parks may be a politically palatable option, but is it the smart financial choice?

• Lending a Small Hand
• By: William Fulton
• A revived Small Business Administration is good news for local government.

• Muni Threat: Cities Weigh Chapter 9
• By: Tod Newcombe
• The economic slump is forcing debt-laden municipalities nationwide to consider filing for bankruptcy.

PROBLEM SOLVER

• Taxing Away Exemptions
• By: Penelope Lemov

• With revenues down, states and localities reconsider tax-exempt organizations.

• When Public Officials Play Hide and Seek
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• The low-tech telephone plays a key role in keeping government connected to citizens. Too bad, officials never pick up.

• Government "Apps" Move from Cool to Useful
• By: Steve Towns
• Recently created government "apps" contests are popular, but are they worth doing?

• Sinking Ships of State
• By: John E. Petersen
• Deep cuts in state and local spending may exert an undertow on the nation's recovery.

• Mile-High Health Reform
• By: John Buntin
• A successful CEO molds Denver's public health system into a national model.

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