The city, which is one of the nation’s poorest and most obese, is resorting to creative measures to get people to eat healthier. There are signs that its efforts are working.
The fatal explosion earlier this year at a Texas fertilizer plant that hadn’t been inspected since 1985 brought attention to the nation’s dysfunctional and ineffective system of keeping employees -- both in the public and private sectors -- safe.
Hit by tornadoes and earthquakes, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Greensburg, Kan.; and San Francisco all learned how to turn local tragedy into a new and vibrant vision. Their lessons are a playbook for local officials dealing with disasters.
After years of development, Los Angeles reached a milestone that few other, if any, major cities can claim: Every single traffic light -- all 4,398 of them -- can be monitored and controlled remotely.
The results of a Governing survey paint a portrait of a public sector hard-hit by budget cuts, pay freezes and a lack of advancement opportunities. But employees have reasons for optimism.
At least three states already allow localities to charge citizens for what can be dangerous and expensive rescues that occur when recklessness -- like kayaking during a flood -- is involved.
In this conservative stronghold where the “nanny state” is unpopular, health and parks department officials have collaborated to nudge instead of force people to get active.
The wealthy Virginia county outside Washington, D.C., has been free of the nasty political environment home to its neighbors – until now. Causing the controversy is a proposed streetcar, which nearly a dozen cities are building.
A little lie the Seattle mayor told his constituents about a gun buyback program may now cost him his re-election. It’s a lesson for all public officials about dealing with reporters.
The combination of a limping economy and tight federal budgets has led many state and local governments to ever more imaginative -- and risky -- revenue sources like violence and buzzkill taxes.
Gay marriage is more than a social issue -- it’s a public health issue. New research suggests prohibitions on gay unions may take a psychological toll.
With so many states and localities pruning money from parks and tree-planting programs to balance budgets, the free application from the U.S. Forest Service helps public officials put a monetary value on the benefits of growing them.
New York City’s first bike-sharing program, which is the nation’s largest, has the potential to revolutionize city life -- and not just in the Big Apple.
Two powerful women in Detroit are pushing hard for the city to focus its resources on fighting its high violent crime rate, which, in 2012, was five times the national average.
Thanks to recent revenue increases, some states are unfreezing public workers’ pay for the first time since before the recession. But looking at pay levels rather than total compensation hides a great deal of the story.
Fraud is on the rise. There is evidence that fraud has permeated virtually every government-based benefit program at the state, local and federal level. The federal government estimates that three to five percent of public assistance dollars are lost each year to fraud, and tax related identity fraud has grown 650% since 2008.
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.
Accelerating Economic Growth and Vitality
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