• Virginia’s 1st Virtual School Likely to Close
• Source: Washington Post   |   Virginia   |   May 2, 2013
• The decision to close what was also the state’s first online school deals a blow to Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s goal of expanding virtual education options.
• 1 Comments

• When Data Drives Innovation
• BY: Stephen Goldsmith   |   May 1, 2013
• Many of the top entrants for Innovations Awards demonstrate that technology applied creatively can shift governments from reactive service delivery to prescriptive solutions.
• 2 Comments

• Short-Term Gains Won't Outweigh Long-Term Pain
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Nation   |   May 1, 2013
• Preliminary tax data from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government for 45 states shows revenues are up nearly 13 percent from last year.

• Florida Dems Filibuster to Force Medicaid Expansion Debate
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   May 1, 2013
• Both sides of the aisle are using parliamentarian tricks to maneuver around the most controversial issue of the session, which ends Friday.
• 2 Comments

• Prisons Get Rated on Yelp
• BY: Government Technology   |   Nation   |   May 1, 2013
• The business and restaurant rating site is now being used to rate an unconventional entity -- prisons. Inmates are reporting about the quality of the food, the friendliness of deputies, and more.

• Florida Pension Reform Bill Fails
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   May 1, 2013
• A pension reform bill that would have moved new state workers and teachers into a 401K plan and blocked them from enrolling in the state pension system, failed in the Florida senate. Several Republicans joined the Democratic minority to defeat the measure 22-18.
• 1 Comments

• Gov. Corbett: Drug Tests Leave Jobs Unfilled
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Pennsylvania   |   May 1, 2013
• Trailing in the polls in his bid for reelection and being sharply criticized for the lack of job growth in his state, Gov. Corbett blamed unemployment on workers who could not pass drug tests.

• Use of Mortgage Interest Deduction Varies by State
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 1, 2013
• The mortgage interest deduction, widely viewed as a tax break for a broad slice of middle-class America, benefits the residents of some states far more than others, according to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

• Gov. Branstad Claims His Healthy Iowa Plan Costs Less Than Medicaid
• Source: Des Moines Register   |   Iowa   |   May 1, 2013
• Gov. Terry Branstad’s office contends in a document that poor Iowans could wind up paying more for health care if Medicaid is expanded than they would if the state adopts the governor’s health plan.

• Should States Have to List Minors on Sex-Offender Registries?
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   May 1, 2013
• Government authorities should end the practice of placing juveniles' names on publicly accessible sex-offender registries, Human Rights Watch says in a report warning of lasting and unwarranted harm to some youths.

• Gunmakers Leave States with New, Strict Laws
• Source: Fox News   |   Nation   |   May 1, 2013
• Arms manufacturers in at least two states with strict new gun laws are making good on their promise to move their operations -- along with thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenues -- to locales they deem friendlier to the industry.
• 4 Comments

• Fracking-Ban Bills Advance in California
• Source: Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   May 1, 2013
• The bills call for a moratorium to allow more time to study the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, which involves blasting a mix of chemicals and water deep underground.

• How School Choice Has Reshaped Arizona
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 1, 2013
• Arizona is one of the nation’s leading states in letting families choose where and how their children are educated, according to the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C., education think tank that ranks Arizona sixth in the country for school choice.

• Patients' Right-to-Know at Heart of Wisconsin Debate
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   May 1, 2013
• A state Supreme Court ruling led to a bill now before the Legislature to change the state law on what doctors must tell their patients.

• Dunes Coming to New Jersey Whether Citizens Consent or Not, Christie Says
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 1, 2013
• Some property owners are refusing to give the federal government access to their property. And Gov. Christie isn’t happy about that.