News
The current transportation budget falls short of the state’s litany of needs. As lawmakers prepare to craft a major transit package next session, they will need to figure out how to increase revenue streams despite logistical and political challenges.
Two executives at Done, a California-based telehealth company, were indicted for allegedly scheming to provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants to patients who didn’t need them.
The state’s Department of Education failed to act on warning signs of fraud at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future and failed, on numerous occasions, to monitor federal dollars.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Denver is one of several cities across the nation that have built communities of tiny homes to provide housing for the homeless population, moving them up onto the first “rung” of housing. According to Denver city data, the city’s transitional homes program has moved more than 1,500 people indoors, with more than 80 percent still in such housing as of last month. (Associated Press — June 14, 2024)
Michigan’s first-in-the-nation chief growth officer is working to refresh the state’s brand with help from partners whose survival depends on attracting more workers.
Future in Context
As ridership continues to lag amid a stubbornly slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, cities experiment with free rides and micromobility to prove public transit’s worth in worsening financial conditions.
Since the Great Recession, states have moved to reform their public pension plans, making tough choices and frequently doing so with bipartisan support. Federal lawmakers should keep these lessons in mind.
One resolution would eliminate most judicial re-elections, essentially giving judges lifetime appointments.
This multipart investigation by St. Louis Public Radio, APM Reports and The Marshall Project explores how police in St. Louis — one of America’s deadliest cities — have struggled to solve killings, leaving thousands of family members without answers.
More than 200 children live on Skid Row, a majority of which stay in the only homeless shelter in the neighborhood that allows families. Advocates are urging the city to do more to help.
Florida state Rep. Jason Shoaf, a Republican whose bill loosening regulations on the killing of wildlife has passed both houses of the Legislature. Shoaf made his remark at a January committee hearing on the legislation, though the British newspaper that first reported his remarks was “unable to find a documented incident of any of Florida’s estimated population of 4,050 black bears having ingested crack.” (News from the States — June 13, 2024)
Republican Jeff Landry has gotten his way on issues including crime, education and the political operations of the state. His ultimate goal is rewriting the state constitution.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to pull the plug on a congestion pricing plan for New York City was seen as a move calculated for advantage in the November elections, but it hasn’t made her many new friends.
Two of the best alternatives for user-paid infrastructure are toll roads and variable-fee express lanes. States with fast-growing populations are embracing toll projects because they can't wait for federal funding, and private capital is eager to invest.
They not only provide access to green space but make diverse communities feel safe and welcome, as a popular park in St. Paul, Minn., demonstrates.
The state Department of Environmental Protection announced that it is 91 percent of the way toward meeting its carbon neutrality target by 2045. But the state still has a way to go before reaching its other climate goals.
The Florida county has begun using a drone to spray hard-to-reach areas to control mosquito populations more efficiently. Already in 2024, there have been seven cases of locally- acquired dengue virus.
The Surfrider Foundation found that of the nation’s 10 most polluted beaches, three are in California. San Diego’s Imperial Beach held the top spot, with every water sample failing the state’s health standards.
Yukari Kane, CEO of the Prison Journalism Project, regarding the more than two dozen prison newspapers across the nation. The Prison Mirror, made by and for the people held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater, is one of the oldest prison newspapers in the country, publishing since 1887. (NPR — June 12, 2024)
Two years after Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, some significant steps are now underway. Major manufacturers hope to position the nation as a player in global semiconductors.
Sixteen states and D.C. have signed on to California’s latest unworkable mandate for zero-emission vehicles. Virginia is the first of those to abandon California’s regulations. That’s a win for the state, its workers and its businesses.
We need to focus on the need to address the inequalities in our criminal justice system, especially as they impact people of color and the poor.
Aldermen are set to consider the city’s largest police misconduct settlement ever. Four men were imprisoned after allegedly being coerced by the police to give false confessions of a 1995 double murder.
A state House committee voted 8-3 to pass a cluster of bills that would devote billions over 10 years to Michigan’s economic development and transit. But Democrats will need at least one Republican to vote to pass the package.
The proposed rules would require indoor workplaces to be cooled below 87 degrees Fahrenheit when employees are present. They would require breaks and water and other cooling devices when 87 degrees cannot be met.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, upon the full reopening of the Port of Baltimore’s main shipping channel, which was closed by the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it was struck by a container ship in March. (Washington Post — June 10, 2024)
Most Read
