In the public sector, customer service can easily devolve to “our way or the highway.” The head of the Arlington, Texas, planning department is transforming its service culture into a place where your “dream comes true.”
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The state’s eviction moratorium is coming to an end June 30. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, housing analysts have worried about a wave of evictions whenever the state lifts protections for renters. Carolina Reid, associate professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, has been tracking vulnerable renters throughout the pandemic. She says the state could help renters facing eviction — if enough money gets to them in time. -
North America’s largest subway system is run by a board that’s disproportionately controlled by state government. A city-run system has merits, but so far only one mayoral candidate is interested in changing the status quo.
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Dissatisfied voters targeted election administrators in 2020. Accustomed to working behind the scenes, many were cast as villains and now fear for their personal and professional safety.
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Congress and state legislatures dealt with dozens of bills on voter identification and other legislative measures aimed at more full election integrity — but there is no agreement on what a more perfect voting process would look like.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged police reform while campaigning for mayor, but two years later and the Chicago Police Department looks much as it did before she took office. Many are upset with the lack of change.
As the country still struggles with a mass worker shortage, some Ohio companies are trying to encourage workers to apply for positions with incentives that include pay increases, signing bonuses and flexible schedules.
The state upgraded its antiquated human resources management software, and when the project failed, Maine blamed the contracted company. But an investigation reveals the state is also at fault.
The replacement of the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel will eliminate a massive bottleneck and save Amtrak and MARC trains an average of 7 hours every weekday. The project will cost $4 billion and will be named after the Maryland abolitionist.
Officials across the state voiced concerns about proposed legislation that would hold the gubernatorial recall election as early as Aug. 24 and would push costs beyond the projected $215 million price tag.
With one of the region’s largest cryptocurrency mining facilities, a Bitcoin ATM operator and a bill that would allow special trusts to hold digital assets, the state could be a center of the growing fintech industry.
After a year of system glitches and jobless claim fraud, the state claims it has improved its system and is ready to verify eligibility again. So far, ESD has sent verification notices to approximately 105,000 claimants.
The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to regulate the police department’s use of “militarized” gear, and the department will be required to submit reports of equipment use and purchases.
Gov. Greg Abbott discussed his plans to spend at least $250 million to continue the construction of a Texas-Mexico border wall. The governor has already started accepting donations for the project.
Mobile, Ala., Mayor Sandy Stimpson has proposed that the city copy Birmingham’s plan to give its full-time and part-time city employees a $5,000 and $2,500 bonus, respectively, for working during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state is scheduled to eliminate the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, but many residents are hesitant to switch to an electric vehicle due to range anxiety. Installing new chargers will help.
Six city-owned properties will be considered for affordable housing developments by the city council in an attempt to combat rising land costs. Half of the proposed sites are in wealthier parts of the city.
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"A lot of cities have come to realize that climate action and climate justice are one and the same."Matt Gray, the senior vice president of programs at the Student Conservation Association, regarding the shift in focus toward environmental justice and how communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. (NPR — June 21, 2021)
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Texas and 19 other states had challenged the Affordable Care Act. For the third time, the nation's highest court upheld it.
Public officials need the private sector to step up and use its moral and financial clout to counter the right-wing extremists who are bent on ending the American republic.
America’s largest city has a transit system under stress, and an ongoing battle between cars, bikes and pedestrians for control of the streets. Yet mayoral candidates are saying little about the transportation problems.
Stockton emerged from bankruptcy years ago, but a culture of caution lingered that wasn’t conducive to growth. Harry Black, its new city manager, aims to speed resurgence and innovation through data-based plans and programs.
“No industry should feel entitled to use up a human body.”
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The amount that 100 Ulster County, N.Y., residents are receiving each month for a year as a part of an experimental universal basic income program.
The proportion of Americans who are “highly concerned” that ending COVID-19 restrictions will result in an increase in virus infections in their community; 34 percent think that the restrictions were lifted too quickly.
The number of municipal broadband providers in Ohio that would be prohibited from providing service as long as there was a private-sector company operating in the area under a proposed amendment to a budget bill. The legislation would allow municipalities to provide broadband to only unserved areas, those without access to download speeds of at least 10 mbps, which classifies over 98 percent of the state ineligible. Cleveland has said they would challenge the legislation if enacted.
The proportion of election officials across the nation who feel unsafe on the job, while one in six election workers reported being threatened because of their work.
The estimated cost of the 2020 Census, which is far below the previously estimated $15.6 billion price tag, partly due to technology upgrades which allowed many households to respond to the Census online.
The amount that NJ Transit paid to four injured people and the family of a woman who was killed by a train that crashed through a barrier in Hoboken Terminal in 2016.
The amount that California will restore to its bullet train project. The Trump administration revoked the funds in 2019. The high-speed rail was originally supposed to be completed and running by 2020 when residents approved the project in 2008.
The surface elevation of Lake Mead along the Nevada-Arizona border, a record low. The last time this level was hit was in July 2016 and it’s the lowest the reservoir has been since the lake was filled in the 1930s. Officials expect the water level to continue to decrease until November.
The proportion of Americans who support same-sex marriage, an all-time high for the nation since 1996 and a 10 percent increase since 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. While Democrats have consistently been supportive, 55 percent of Republicans now approve as well.
The proportion of Americans who support Facebook’s decision to extend the platform’s suspension of former President Trump for another two years. Only 15 percent of Republicans were in support of the suspension.
The amount that New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have proposed to put toward federal cybersecurity funding to help prevent hackers from breaching public systems. The proposal is inspired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority breach.
The number of Walmart employees who will receive smartphones as a part of the company’s initiative for its new app, Me@Walmart. The employees will be able to use their phones and apps while on the job and for their own personal use.
View demographic data showing representation of racial and ethnic minorities in each police department.
Newly released data shows an increasingly diverse American population. About 30 percent identify as racial or ethnic minorities, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates.
Governing is building a 50-state map to visualize the changes underway to declare states “Open for Business” even as the coronavirus remains at large across the country.
Recent data shows that while overall spending has increased, there is great variation among states on public education expenditures per student. The average is $12,612, but New York spends nearly double that amount.
View population density and land area data for U.S. cities.
State totals on active duty, reserve forces and civilian employees for each branch of the military.
Connecticut tops the list of states whose taxpayers receive the least bang for their buck from the feds.
Voters made Texas the 19th state to add legal protections for hunting and fishing, which are now also the preferred methods for controlling wildlife.
In hopes of reducing the city's high crime rate, Camden, N.J., made a controversial and unprecedented move a year ago to replace its police force.
Data shows total law enforcement staff and per capita rates.
Thirty-seven states had legalized same-sex marriage prior to the Supreme Court ruling.
Updated medical and recreational-purpose marijuana laws by state
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