Sustainable Communities

• Job Skills Gap a Growing Concern in Cities
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Nation   |   April 5, 2013
• Cities coming out of the recession are facing new challenges with matching their workforce to available jobs, a problem that could be an early indicator of a growing national problem.

• Feds Accuse Oregon of Segregating Disabled in Sheltered Jobs
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   April 2, 2013
• Oregon unlawfully segregates people with disabilities in sheltered workshops instead of providing them more work opportunities in the public midst, federal authorities allege.

• Texas Courts Gun Manufacturers
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   April 1, 2013
• Texas Governor Rick Perry is pushing to have more weapons made in the state. His office has sent letters to 34 different firearms and accessories manufacturers in other states encouraging them to relocate to Texas.
• 2 Comments

• Maryland Raising Stakes in Casino Wars with Delaware and West Virginia
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   April 1, 2013
• For years, casinos in West Virginia and Delaware siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars in gambling revenue from Marylanders. Now Maryland is poised to win back increasing numbers of those gamblers — and their millions.

• Indianapolis Building First Empty-Ballpark Apartments
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 1, 2013
• Communities struggle with what to do with stadiums once sports teams leave. Indianapolis is converting its historic minor league ballpark into apartments.

• Unemployment Rate Falls in 22 States
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   March 29, 2013
• View updated jobs data for each state.

• Whatever Happened to the White House Office of Urban Affairs?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   March 29, 2013
• Created four years ago, the office was supposed to engage cities and metro areas in all major policy decisions. Today, the Obama administration has “little to show for its efforts.”
• 2 Comments

• GOP Governors Ask ‘What Would Reagan Do?’
• BY: Donald F. Kettl   |   April 2013
• Furious at Washington gridlock and seeking to get their party back on top, Republican governors -- like President Ronald Reagan before them -- are waging an anti-tax campaign aimed at the income tax.
• 1 Comments

• Should the Public or Private Sector Control Broadband?
• BY: Alex Marshall   |   April 2013
• The question of who will install fiber-optic networks and who will control them is key because it could impact decades of economic growth. Telecom giants like AT&T think they should be the only player.

• How to Talk About Tax Expenditures
• BY: Justin Marlowe   |   April 2013
• There are ways to take some of the partisan heat out of the discussion.

• Is Mesa Mayor Scott Smith Arizona’s Next Governor?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 2013
• The businessman-turned-mayor is turning Mesa around while leading the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Could this moderate Republican bring his pragmatism and policy knowledge to the governorship next?

• Manufacturing in 3-D
• BY: Paul W. Taylor   |   April 2013
• Three-dimensional printing could be the next big economic engine.

• Florida Governor Calls for Obama to Pay Up on Port Improvements
• BY: Stateline   |   Florida   |   March 29, 2013
• Ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to the Port of Miami, Florida Gov. Rick Scott criticized him and the federal government for not paying their share of port improvement projects costs in the state.

• How Smaller Cities Hold onto Major Employers and Grow
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   April 2013
• When a city’s economy depends mostly on one employer, local leaders will go to great lengths to make them happy. But to survive, towns need to attract new businesses.