• Should Local Government Be Run Like Silicon Valley?
• BY: John Buntin   |   April 2013
• Cities are contracting with Code for America -- what some call “the Peace Corps for geeks” -- in an effort to seed Silicon Valley virtues in local government.
• 2 Comments

• Online Sales Tax Upheld by New York Court
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   March 29, 2013
• New York’s highest court rejected arguments by two Internet retailers that they should be exempt from collecting state sales tax.

• Wisconsin Governor on Gay Marriage: Let States Decide
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   March 28, 2013
• As the nation's highest court considers two gay marriage cases, Gov. Scott Walker backed Wisconsin's ban on gay marriage but also said the issue should be left to states to decide.

• Death Penalty Ban Killed in Colorado
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   March 27, 2013
• A House committee killed a bill that sought to abolish the death penalty, exactly one week after Gov. John Hickenlooper expressed concerns that Coloradans weren't ready to part ways with the execution chamber.

• EPA Wastewater Ruling a Big Win for Cities
• Source: Des Moines Register   |   Iowa   |   March 27, 2013
• A federal appeals court has sided with a group of Iowa cities challenging Environmental Protection Agency wastewater treatment rules that would have forced cities across the country to spend billions of dollars if the court had upheld them.

• Nation's Broadest School Voucher Program Upheld in Indiana Court
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   March 27, 2013
• Public tax dollars may be used to fund private school tuition under Indiana's voucher program, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled.
• 1 Comments

• States' Rights Debated in Supreme Court DOMA Case
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Washington, D.C.   |   March 27, 2013
• The U.S. Supreme Court clashed over whether it's constitutional for the federal government to ignore state decisions to legalize gay marriage.

• U.S. Supreme Court to Hear a 2nd Affirmative Action Case
• Source: Inside Higher Ed   |   Michigan   |   March 26, 2013
• Even before the justices have issued a ruling on the other affirmative action case that they considered this term, they agreed to consider whether Michigan voters had the legal right to bar the state's public colleges and universities from considering race or ethnicity in admissions.

• Supreme Court Appears Divided on Gay Marriage
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Washington, D.C.   |   March 26, 2013
• The justices appeared torn Tuesday over whether it’s too soon to make a broad decision on the issue and whether they should even make a ruling at all.

• Remembering Tom Clements
• BY: Bill Bott   |   March 25, 2013
• The leader of Colorado’s prison system, who was killed last week, was a hero to communities that probably never knew his name.
• 3 Comments

• Study: Halfway Houses Don't Reduce Recidivism Like Previously Thought
• Source: New York Times   |   Pennsylvania   |   March 25, 2013
• A groundbreaking study is casting serious doubt on the halfway-house model, concluding that inmates who spent time in these facilities were more likely to return to crime.
• 2 Comments

• Indiana Leading States in Support of Gay Marriage Bans
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   March 25, 2013
• The state's attorney general, however, said that he is not arguing against same-sex marriage as much as he is advocating that states should be able to make their own decisions.
• 1 Comments

• Part of Georgia Immigration Law Struck Down
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   March 22, 2013
• A federal judge permanently blocked Georgia from enforcing a part of the law that would have punished people who knowingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants or encourage them to come to the state.

• Arizona's Immigrant Driver's License Ban Heads to Court
• Source: Reuters   |   Arizona   |   March 22, 2013
• Lawyers will ask a federal judge on Friday to prevent Arizona from denying driver's licenses to young illegal immigrants granted temporary legal status by the federal government.

• Strict Gun Law Upheld in Maryland
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   March 22, 2013
• Gov. Martin O’Malley, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and grass-roots groups supporting stricter gun control hailed the decision, saying that it places Maryland on firm legal ground as the Legislature looks to tighten gun laws further.
• 1 Comments