2010 Public Officials of the Year

Mick Cornett John Covington Steve Fletcher Ana Gelabert-Sanchez

Jerry Madden John Whitmire Sonny Perdue Diana Urban

 

Features

• Harrisburg's Failed Infrastructure Project
• By: John Buntin
• A new incinerator was supposed to earn Harrisburg, Pa., $1 billion. Instead, it’s a cautionary tale for what happens when an infrastructure project goes bad.

• The Future of Redistricting and Rural America
• By: Josh Goodman
• Redistricting is not likely to be kind to the political clout of rural areas.

• Maintaining Political Balance Through Redistricting
• By: Jonathan Walters
• Bringing truth, light and perhaps even fairness to redistricting.

Departments

• Politics: Problem or Solution?
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Despite polarization, politics is still the way to get things done.

Politics + Policy

• Philadelphia's Mixed Feelings on Legalized Gambling
• By: Josh Goodman
• In Philadelphia, the SugarHouse Casino’s story reflects the mixed emotions about legalized gambling.

• Reforming Sex Offender Laws
• By: Josh Goodman
• California's Chelsea's Law rethinks the way the state manages sex offenders who will return to society.

• Cuyahoga County's Road to Recovery From Corruption
• By: Josh Goodman
• A lot has changed, and is still changing, in Cuyahoga County since the county was slammed with corruption charges.

• Getting Teens to Register and Vote
• By: Josh Goodman
• A new effort is under way to encourage young adults to start voting and keep voting.

• Finding a Leader With Answers
• By: Peter Harkness
• As problems cry out for solutions, we need more Richard Daleys.

• States' Regulation on the Gadsden Flag
• By: Tina Trenkner
• Is flying the "Don't Tread on Me" flag a protected nod to America’s past? Some states’ laws are unclear.

• California: A National Model for Health Benefit Exchanges?
• By: Jessica Mulholland
• As states implement health benefit exchanges, they’ll likely look west for guidance.

• States Look to Boost Hunting Interest
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• U.S. sportsmen are declining. Will a new generation materialize to fuel conservation efforts?

• The Search for Infrastructure-Driven Transformation
• By: William Fulton
• There are infrastructure projects, and then there are infrastructure projects that transform.

• Could Renting Be the New American Dream?
• By: Tod Newcombe
• Renting and returning to urban living -- where energy costs are lower -- could be in the offing.

Problem Solver

• How Rules and Contracts Demean Public Workers
• By: Stephen Goldsmith
• Laws, arbitrary rulings and contracts keep employees locked in an unrewarding work environment.

• Prioritizing and Revamping the Budgeting Process
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• States and localities should prioritize top goals and revamp the budgeting process.

• Ways to Consolidate Government IT
• By: Steve Towns
• It tends to come in two forms: a centralized model and a federated approach.

• The Housing Market's Effect on Government Finance
• By: John E. Petersen
• Plunging real estate values have devastating consequences for government finance.

• Driving Prosecution With Intelligence
• By: John Buntin
• Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s vision of “intelligence-driven prosecution” could do for prosecutors what CompStat did for policing.

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