No longer in denial about its dwindling numbers and diminished political power, organized labor unions are exploring new, potentially risky approaches for growing their memberships.
A state task force recommended a one-year phase-in period, but a state committee later reduced it to three months. And now Mayor Michael Hancock says the city should impose a two-year wait.
A nearly decade-long effort to require Massachusetts employers to offer paid sick days is gaining momentum as lawmakers pass similar proposals across the country.
A decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and students opting out of the high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools and teachers.
Concerned that loitering homeless people are stunting downtown growth, the city will go to federal court in an attempt to undo major provisions of a 15 year-old legal agreement has protected the homeless from undue arrest and harassment by police.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Nation |
April 12, 2013
Around the nation, housing agencies are tightening their belts and often putting a freeze on new Section 8 vouchers for low-income people in the wake of the sequestration.
As school districts across the country consider placing more police officers in schools, some are raising alarm about what they have seen in the schools where officers are already stationed: a surge in criminal charges against children for misbehavior that many believe is better handled in the principal’s office.
Source: Hartford Courant | Connecticut |
April 11, 2013
Under the new law, the sale of most military-style rifles is banned, but firms are allowed to make and ship firearms that are banned in the state. Gun makers, though. say they may be forced to leave by a backlash from customers.
Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun violence group is pulling ads that targeted U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey after the Pennsylvania Republican agreed to support a bipartisan agreement on background checks
Source: New York Times | New York |
April 11, 2013
An effort by New York City to charge a nonprofit bicycling group nearly $1 million for the cost of policing its annual citywide bike tour appeared to be in jeopardy.
President Obama's fiscal plan for 2014 contains a mix of tax increases and breaks that some are concerned could mean increased costs for states and localities.
Following up on his pledge to expand early education to all American children, President Barack Obama proposed pumping $66 billion over the next 10 years into a “Preschool for All” initiative.
As part of his plan for greater energy efficiency across the U.S., President Barack Obama proposed a competitive grant program to help states cut waste.
Is your state ready for Marketplace open enrollment in October 2013?
In a few short months, millions of uninsured Americans will qualify for affordable healthcare coverage either through Medicaid, CHIP or tax subsidies.