Features

• How Real Is the Bankruptcy Threat?
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• State and local leaders have taken to saying, ‘We’re broke.’ The true story is a lot more complicated.

• Nonprofits Seek Relief and Support from States
• By: Jonathan Walters
• Nonprofits deliver crucial health and human services to the most vulnerable populations, but state budget constraints are endangering their operations.

• Seattle Looks to Cottages for Affordable Housing
• By: Zach Patton
• Cities are struggling to increase residential density without destroying single-family neighborhoods. That means the return of the backyard cottage.

• Reconstructing Building Codes for Greater Energy Efficiency
• By: Linda Baker
• To move towards an energy-saving future, governments are adopting new and strengthening existing building codes, hoping others will follow their lead.

• Working Prisoners Save Taxpayers' Money
• By: Russell Nichols
• States are increasingly utilizing prison labor to plug budget holes, but public employee unions aren’t happy.

Departments

• Reinventing the Food Stamp Program
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Free-market economists argue that replacing welfare programs with direct cash grants to the poor would require a smaller bureaucracy and be more beneficial to those in need.

Politics + Policy

• New Governors Time Their Battles
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Unpopular governors have good chances of winning re-election -- as long as they push their most controversial policies early on.

• Detroit's Disappearing Population -- and Revenues
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• With the loss of 25 percent of its residents, Detroit could also lose its ability to levy higher income taxes.

• Does the Popular Vote Matter?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• While some states offer extra protection for statutes enacted by popular vote, legislatures can still overturn ballot initiatives in most states.

• The Economics of Spring Training
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Cities in Arizona and Florida spend millions to host baseball teams during spring training. Is it worth it?

• The Truth about Bankruptcy
• By: Peter Harkness
• Exaggerating problems is more about politics than budget balancing.

• States Challenge Federal Land-Use Law
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• State and local officials in the West are filing lawsuits to overturn new policies they say will prevent development and job growth.

• Do Smokers Have Privacy Rights?
• By: Jessica Mulholland
• An Ariz. county will begin testing its employees and offering health insurance discounts to nonsmokers. But is it right to find and penalize those who smoke?

• Consolidating 'Green' Departments
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• More leaders are trying to cut costs by merging environmental agencies. Critics worry this will water down the impact of environmental protection.

• Economic Development in the 1099 Economy
• By: William Fulton
• Temporary work is becoming the norm. Economic developers must change their focus if they want to create jobs in this new economy.

• Cities' Access to Fresh Food Worsens
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Higher maintenance costs in urban areas have led to a serious lack of grocery stores for city dwellers. States and cities are working on ways to get them back.

Problem Solver

• Data-Driven Policing
• By: Heather Kerrigan
• With little or no additional funding, geomapping can help law enforcement fight crime while lowering traffic incidents.

• When is a Shortfall a Budget Gap and Not a Budget Deficit?
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• The distinctions between gaps and deficits can show just how dire a city or state's condition is.

• The Debt Demon
• By: John E. Petersen
• Have states and localities borrowed too much?

• Solving the IP Address Shortage
• By: Steve Towns
• The time to upgrade to IPv6 -- and take advantage of its innovative technologies -- is now.

• Minn. Public Utilities Commissioner Keeps Colleagues Informed on Nuclear Issues
• By: Tina Trenkner
• The industries that David C. Boyd regulates tend to fly under the radar until a crisis like the tsunami in Japan arises.

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