FEATURES

• Medical Marijuana: Do States Know How to Regulate It?
• By: Dylan Scott
• Colorado’s decade-long debate over how to manage medical marijuana has produced a tightly controlled approach that more states are starting to emulate.

• Counties: An Outdated Concept or the Future?
• By: Alan Greenblatt
• Hit harder by the economic downturn than either cities or states, counties are feeling pressure from all sides, leading many to reexamine county functions altogether.

• Hybrid Pension Plans Attracting More States, Cities
• By: Carol Anderson
• Unable to continue making payments on traditional retirement benefits, officials are trading in the old model and looking for a more efficient option.

• 4 Health and Human Services Officials Worth Watching
• By: Jonathan Walters
• Administering services to vulnerable populations is hard work. But tough public-sector jobs have a way of attracting top talent.

• Bus Rapid Transit Gaining Traction Despite Concerns
• By: Ryan Holeywell
• Localities from San Francisco to Jacksonville, Fla., are embracing bus rapid transit -- even if not everyone in the transportation community is sold on the idea.

• Saltville, Virginia: A Company Town Without a Company
• By: Tod Newcombe
• In 1971, the Olin chemical company pulled out of Saltville, leaving the tiny town to fend for itself.

POLITICS + POLICY

• New State Laws Grant Immunity for 911 Overdose Calls
• By: Leigh Ann Renzulli

• New Life For D.C.'s Tunnels?
• By: Ryan Holeywell

• Survey Shows "Agenda 21" Crowd is Slim
• By: Ryan Holeywell

• Social Media and Public Finance: The Odd Couple
• By: Paul W. Taylor
• Public finance departments are significantly less likely than government in general to use social media or see its value in engaging with constituents. It might be time for this to change.

• Whooping Cough’s Comeback Raises Questions
• By: Donald F. Kettl
• How states’ decisions to not require vaccinations and general budget cuts to public health have impacted the nation’s ability to prevent, track and treat disease outbreaks.

• Can 'Connected Vehicles' Prevent Car Crashes?
• By: Ryan Holeywell

• How Food Stamps Reduced Louisiana's Uninsured Children’s Rate
• By: David Levine
• Louisiana was the first state to embrace “express lane eligibility."

• Colleges Beef Up Sustainability Degree Programs
• By: Elizabeth Daigneau
• Nearly 60 percent of all new academic programs or training opportunities in 2011 focused on green careers, which are in demand now more than ever.

• Bikers, Walkers Need Cities to Protect Them
• By: Alex Marshall
• Without laws protecting bikers and walkers, the goal of having truly livable cities in America remains out of reach.

• As Newspapers Shrink, Public Officials Worry
• By: Tod Newcombe

PROBLEM SOLVER

• High School Majors Help Some States Cut Dropout Rate
• By: Caroline Cournoyer
• Requiring freshman to “specialize” in particular subjects helped Florida significantly increase its graduation rate and decrease its dropout rate. Georgia is hoping for similar results.

• Gainsharing Falls Victim to Tight Times
• By: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
• The concept of sharing unspent dollars with other employees and agencies saves governments money but is often ignored when budgets are the smallest.

• New York to Require Pro Bono Work for New Lawyers
• By: Brian Peteritas
• New York will become the first state to make pro bono work mandatory for admittance to the state bar.

• North Dakota to Fund Child Care For Economic Development
• By: Brian Peteritas
• The state will begin a pilot program aimed at providing more child care in it's booming western oil region.

• IT Lessons from Roseville’s “Footloose” Moment
• By: Steve Towns
• A rapidly spreading rumor about the California city last year offers a cautionary tale for public officials who think social media has little to do with the business of governing.

• The Very Public Private-Sector Retirement Problem
• By: Penelope Lemov
• The Great Recession was hard on private workers. Will states and localities have to rescue them?

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