Governing: State and local government news and analysis
A traffic signal prioritization product developed for the city of San Jose has made buses 20 percent faster. The city has turned to Silicon Valley tech companies for a range of needs.
For public officials who support equal opportunity, recent court rulings and other developments provide reasons for a little optimism.
Whether it’s political polarization, ruthless social media or federal interference, this is a particularly tough time to be in elected office in a city or a state.
President Donald Trump gave the longest State of the Union speech in history Tuesday night. It emphasized the administration’s work on affordability issues as polls suggest most Americans are dissatisfied with his handling of the economy.
It doesn’t look good for the GOP, but these intermittent elections are far from perfect barometers of public opinion.
For a few of them, particularly ambitious Democrats, the answer is yes.
State and local governments have been issuing record amounts of debt, mostly to maintain and expand infrastructure. Will the surge continue?
Compounds far more potent than fentanyl are emerging faster than ever. State and local overdose tracking systems should be built to detect them.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield led a 12-state lawsuit against the Trump administration’s tariff policy. The Supreme Court ruled with the states on Friday.
Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton says an unusually low number of homicides, a departmental reorganization that sped up investigations and community relationships all contributed.
We need to reward outcomes that enhance community safety. The place to start is with the way we staff our prisons.
We make it too hard for immigrants with substantial education and professional experience gained in other countries to work here at their skill level, filling critical labor shortages. We should evaluate competence in a rigorous yet realistic way.
President Trump disinvited two Democratic governors from a planned White House dinner with the National Governors Association, casting the event in doubt. The NGA has tried to promote bipartisanship amid increasing polarization.
At least 10 states are using their own funds to help residents afford marketplace coverage amid rising premiums.
State and local governments can expand access and slash electric bills by simplifying slow, expensive permitting processes.
A growing number of public health officials are recognizing that data alone is not enough to gain public trust. Jefferson County decided to take a different tack.
It provides a natural space where identities overlap, reducing partisan prejudices. It could be key to easing our fierce divisions.
Eddie Melton, the mayor of Gary, Ind., has worked to attract new investment while promoting the narrative of a comeback. It’s got a long way to come back.
It’s all too easy to deploy a system that does more harm than good, undermining public trust.
By showing where salt marshes may migrate, local officials can better guide development and reduce flood risk.
President Trump’s desire to place his party in charge of national elections is a tactic that collides with 250 years of constitutional history.
The withdrawals could kneecap the DART system, starving it of funds at a time when transit agencies around the country are barely hanging on.
Temporary pandemic-era changes helped a lot. Continuing revival requires systems calibrated to rural scale rather than to urban norms.
Municipalities in Rhode Island hope to delay the landfill’s closure date and save money on waste disposal by setting up composting programs.
It could provide a controlled framework for innovation, testing and deployment of technologies like AI and blockchain.
Federal subsidies helped 13 million more Americans access health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Millions are expected to lose coverage now that subsidies have expired.
The circumstances have to be right, and real urban change agents know not to promise the impossible.
Changes at the U.S. Postal Service could harm political campaigns and voters alike. To safeguard democracy, they will need to adjust to new realities.
Outdated assessment systems are opaque and structurally biased, leading to “data rot.” Local governments should invest in tools that make it easier for taxpayers to understand how their property is valued.
State Republicans and city Democrats often diverge on questions of public transit. In Arizona, GOP leaders are trying to prevent a light rail project from reaching the state Capitol building.
