Sustainable Communities

• Report: States Fail to Prepare Students for Workforce
• Source: Tennessean   |   Nation   |   June 20, 2012
• The Institute for a Competitive Workforce grades each state on how well its public colleges and institutions prepare students for postgraduate careers.

• Our Efficiency-Killing Tangle of Laws
• BY: John M. Bernard   |   June 19, 2012
• Governments produce tens of thousands of new laws every year, confusing citizens and driving business away. Instead of more laws, what we need is a focus on outcomes.
• 8 Comments

• Senate Reaches Deal on Farm Bill
• Source: Roll Call   |   Nation   |   June 19, 2012
• Although final Senate approval is far from guaranteed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced a 73-amendment agreement, which was agreed to by unanimous consent and includes measures both germane and nongermane to the bill. But it wasn’t secured easily.

• Vermont Implements Universal Recycling
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   June 18, 2012
• A new law bans the disposal of any recyclable or compostable materials into landfills.

• Job-Hunting Teens Face Another Bleak Summer
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2012
• Teens - often the last hired and first fired - suffered the toughest summers on the job front since World War II in 2010 and 2011. This summer, the outlook is chilly - again.
• 4 Comments

• Parklets Coming to Boston's Streets
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Boston   |   June 15, 2012
• City planners are refining a pilot program to turn parking spaces here and in three other neighborhoods into “parklets’’ - petite, three-season patios, with benches and planters atop platforms built flush with the sidewalk.

• North Dakota to Fund Child Care For Economic Development
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   June 14, 2012
• The state will begin a pilot program aimed at providing more child care in it's booming western oil region.
• 1 Comments

• Analysis: Cities with More Walkers, Bike Commuters are Less Obese
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   June 14, 2012
• A GOVERNING data analysis finds metro areas with more walkers or cyclists are strongly correlated with healthier weights. View our detailed data for each community.

• Should Cities Buy Local?
• BY: Leigh Ann Renzulli   |   Nation   |   June 14, 2012
• Mayors from manufacturing communities urge cities to buy American-made products. But is that practical?
• 6 Comments

• Showing the Way on Tax Incentives
• BY: Susan K. Urahn   |   June 13, 2012
• States generally don’t measure whether the billions of dollars in tax breaks they hand out for economic development are working. But there are some worthwhile efforts under way.

• Report: State Revenue Returns to Pre-Recession Levels
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   June 12, 2012
• But growing Medicaid costs remains a concern.

• Michigan Struggles With Skills Mismatch
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   June 12, 2012
• State has thousands of job openings in engineering and skilled trades, despite high unemployment.
• 3 Comments

• Wyoming GDP Falls to Worst in Nation
• Source: Casper Star-Tribune   |   Wyoming   |   June 11, 2012
• Wyoming’s real gross domestic product in 2011 declined by 1.2 percent and earned the state a national ranking of 50th, according to estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

• Snyder on Snyder: Michigan Governor Discusses Management
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   June 8, 2012
• Gov. Rick Snyder discusses the state's workforce, as well as his ideas for economic development.

• Medical Marijuana Businesses Lured to Arizona by New Law
• Source: New York Times   |   Arizona   |   June 8, 2012
• Arizona has one of the country’s strictest set of requirements governing the sale of medical marijuana.