Sustainable Communities

• Mexico City's Recycling Incentive: More Food
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   February 2013
• Mexico City has a massive trash problem that's partially caused by citizens' resistance to recycle. To encourage them to do so, the city gives residents food vouchers in exchange for their recyclable waste.
• 1 Comments

• Post-Disaster New Zealand Finds Use for Vacant Spaces
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   February 2013
• A town destroyed by two earthquakes shows U.S. states and cities what they can do with areas decimated by natural disasters.

• Affordable and Luxurious Housing Come Hand in Hand in Vienna
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   February 2013
• Vienna has figured out how to offer high-quality apartments with low-cost rent and renters' rights that would be unheard of in the United States. Advocates say it's a model worth examining.
• 5 Comments

• Singapore Strives to Become 'The Smartest City'
• BY: David Hatch   |   February 2013
• Singapore is using data to redefine what it means to be a 21st-century metropolis.
• 1 Comments

• Report Identifies Top Job-Poaching States
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   January 31, 2013
• Many states engage in bidding wars to pull companies into their region. A new report examines recent high-profile tax incentive deals.
• 2 Comments

• After Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Bill, Dems Vow to Put it on the Ballot
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   January 29, 2013
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the Democrats’ bill, which would have raised the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and tied future increases to the rate of inflation, would have hurt the state’s economy.

• Film Incentives Criticized in Tennessee Audit
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   January 29, 2013
• According to an audit report, the agencies failed to properly administer two state film incentive programs or provide adequate evidence that Tennessee was getting the most bang for its buck.

• Cities Ask Tax-Exempt Nonprofits to Pay for Services
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   January 28, 2013
• City officials across the nation are rethinking nonprofits' tax-exempt status and asking them to help make ends meet.
• 5 Comments

• GOP Governors Push Income Tax Cuts and Sales Tax Hikes
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   January 25, 2013
• Republican governors are moving aggressively to cut personal and corporate income taxes, including proposals that would increase reliance on state sales taxes, setting up ambitious experiments in tax reform that could shape what is possible on a national level.
• 2 Comments

• Kansas Governor Wants to Eliminate Property Tax Deduction
• Source: Kansas City Star   |   Kansas   |   January 24, 2013
• The governor wants to wipe away the income deduction claimed by Kansans for property taxes they pay on their homes. Nixing that deduction would raise revenue, at least partially offsetting the lower state income tax rates Brownback wants to adopt.
• 2 Comments

• Budget Chief Has Concerns with Ending Income Tax in North Carolina
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   January 24, 2013
• Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget director distanced the Republican chief executive from a proposal to eliminate income taxes in North Carolina and expressed his own “great concerns” with the concept being floated by leading GOP lawmakers.

• Amazon Fails to Collect New Taxes in Georgia
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   January 23, 2013
• Georgia shoppers at Amazon.com still aren’t paying sales tax, three weeks after the start of a state law designed to snag the money from the world’s biggest online retailer.

• Bringing a 'Green Tint' to Sacramento
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   January 23, 2013
• Mayor Kevin Johnson has big ideas for California's capital. Will the drive that made him an NBA star serve him as he tries to remake his city?
• 1 Comments

• Muni Bond Market a Political Pawn in 2013
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   January 21, 2013
• Experts say that 2013 will be a minefield of uncertainty for investors as the tax debate in Congress and financial volatility at home raise questions about muni market stability.

• Metro-Area Economies: Don’t Uncross Those Fingers Just Yet
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   January 18, 2013
• Economists predict a return to steady economic growth in the latter half of this decade but said inaction on Capitol Hill could reverse that.