Archive
Pennsylvania has an ambitious program aimed at fixing the finances of troubled cities. In most cases, it doesn’t accomplish a lot.
If the state Supreme Court allows voters to decide whether to repeal the controversial law, it would have an immediate effect on emergency managers in several towns and possibly the city-state consent agreement in Detroit.
District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray said that he still believes he's the best person to lead the city despite revelations that he was elected with the help of a $650,000 in illicit funds.
More than 20,000 evacuation calls were never delivered to residents in the path of a wildfire that destroyed about 350 homes around Colorado Springs last month, records show.
A federal judge extended a temporary restraining order against a Mississippi law that could shut down the state's last abortion clinic, citing a need to review documents.
When someone calls 911, information stored in a previously created online profile — such as photographs, the presence of seniors or people with disabilities, or the locations of gas valves — is displayed on the dispatcher’s computer screen.
In the first case of its kind, the American Civil Liberties Union is charging that the state of Michigan and a Detroit area school district have failed to adequately educate children, violating their “right to learn to read” under an obscure state law.
The change comes amid reports of tension between the office of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the memorial’s chairman, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is run by those states’ governors, over control of the ceremony and other developments at the World Trade Center site.
This will be the third time King has sought the governor’s office.
The House voted again to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law, a largely symbolic gesture that gave Republicans some revenge against the Supreme Court ruling that declared the law constitutional. The repeal effort will likely die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Florida A&M University President James Ammons resigned amid a growing scandal over the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion and widespread criticism over management of the university.
A new study shows 64.1 percent of the area’s residents can reach a typical job within a 90-minute transit ride. The study reported a 27 percent average among the nation’s top 100 metro areas.
The federal government is moving to shut down the nation's largest and highest-profile medical marijuana dispensary operation, filing papers to seize properties in Oakland and San Jose where Harborside Health Center does business.
While private-sector development has fueled construction industry growth, government spending has dropped to the lowest level since 2006.
Members of the International Union of Railways came to Capitol Hill to discuss the progress of high-speed rail worldwide.
Miniature golf will draw those in Washington, D.C., to explore design while having fun at the National Building Museum.
After decades of headlines about Illinois lawmakers giving out free tuition waivers to friends, relatives and campaign contributors, Gov. Pat Quinn will sign a bill to kill the long-abused legislative scholarship program.
Pennsylvania -- which boasts one of the largest numbers of designated historic structures in the nation -- became the 30th state to provide a tax credit for restoring historic buildings.
More than a dozen Republican governors, including Rick Perry of Texas, have said they will or suggested they might decline to expand their Medicaid program.
Health-care executives and public officials say complexity and uncertainty reign as states continue to build online insurance marketplaces.
A secret $653,000 effort funded by one of the District government’s most prominent contractors corrupted the 2010 mayoral race and helped Vincent C. Gray get elected, the city’s top federal prosecutor said.
Rulings on the police tactic have raised questions about whether New York City has sidestepped the Constitution.
As state governments begin to emerge from the long downturn, many are grappling with a difficult choice: should they restore some of the services and jobs they were forced to eliminate in the recession or cut taxes in the hopes of bolstering their local economies?
Maryland's Board of Elections certified a petition to put the state's new same-sex marriage law on the November ballot. The Maryland Marriage Alliance submitted 162,224 signatures to repeal the law — the most turned in on any referendum issue in recent memory.
In its biennial survey of high school students across the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in June that nearly half said they had no physical education classes in an average week.
Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official will belatedly release a database of 180,000 voters whose citizenship is in question. But in an about-face from an earlier and highly controversial voter purge effort, no one faces being removed from the state’s voting rolls this time.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill that will authorize the Illinois Department of Transportation to go forward with $1.6 billion worth of road, rail and transit projects statewide.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to put a long-standing Chicago practice on the books to ensure that police detain only those undocumented immigrants who are suspected or convicted criminals.
While some states are opting out of President Obama's health care programs, Gov. Mark Dayton wanted it known that he's all-in.
San Bernardino, facing the possibility of missing payroll, becomes California's third city in weeks to authorize a bankruptcy filing.
In its health-care ruling, the court limited Washington’s coercive powers over the states in ways that could have profound consequences — and perhaps unintended ones.
Plus: Getting data right on teachers, and more management news
The idea has been introduced in at least a dozen states since 2006, including four this year.
B&G readers weigh in on whether requiring doctors' notes will cut down on absenteeism.
While state capitals are the historic battleground on the issue, advocates on both sides of the argument are now making their voices heard at the local level.
New leadership and energy at the American Public Human Services Association promises to deliver much-need support and expertise.
The Tennessee city’s Innovation Delivery Team launched a collaborative effort to generate and implement ideas to spark commerce in struggling neighborhoods.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill that lifts the state's campaign contribution limits to candidates once big money starts flowing into a state or local political contest.
A judge cleared the way for the governor's tax initiative to appear first among the propositions on the November ballot, possibly increasing its chances of passing.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined several other Republican governors in declaring that his state should decline to expand Medicaid and leave creation of a health insurance exchange to the federal government.
New York teachers who learn that a student has been bullied online will be required to report the incident to school administrators within one day, under a law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Texas officials defended the state's new controversial voter photo ID law at a federal trial, saying the law should be implemented despite Justice Department claims it would discriminate against minorities.
State Senator Adriano Espaillat said that Representative Charles B. Rangel’s margin of victory in the June 26 Democratic primary was insurmountable.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined other Republican governors in rejecting the federal expansion of the Medicaid program. Now health care providers in the state would like to see Perry's alternative health care plan. Others praised the governor's decision.
Millions of kids simply don't find school very challenging, a new analysis of federal survey data suggests
The state Supreme Court says obesity qualifies as an impairment in some cases under the Montana Human Rights Act, potentially allowing obese people to seek greater protection against discrimination.
In a major blow to Rep. Shelley Berkley’s Senate campaign, the House Ethics Committee announced that it will formally investigate the Nevada Democrat over allegations she used her office to aid her husband’s medical practice.
Pennsylvania State University received more than $208 million in donations for the fiscal year that just ended, the second-highest total in university history despite the upheaval after the arrest of Jerry Sandusky on child sex-abuse charges.
While some social networking websites, including Facebook, ban sex offenders, state Sen. Christopher Bateman wants to clamp down even more by making them disclose their convictions as part of their profiles or face a possible prison sentence and a steep fine.
President Obama signed sweeping legislation that bans dangerous synthetic drugs, attacking a national epidemic that killed a Minnesota teenager last year.
As Texas Gov. Rick Perry becomes the sixth GOP governor to say his state will opt out of the federal health-care law's Medicaid expansion, health-care providers, patients and business owners in Arizona are anxiously waiting to see whether Gov. Jan Brewer will follow suit.
See how states will be affected by Medicaid expansion under PPACA
Taking pictures of graffiti with GPS-enabled cameras and uploading them into a database has proven successful.
The National Association of Medicaid Directors sent nearly 30 questions to the federal government last week on the health-care reform law's now optional Medicaid expansion.
SB 1476, a bill working its way through the California Legislature, would remove the limit of two legal parents per child. Similar legislation exists in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maine, and the District of Columbia.
Video footage will be sent to the American Civil Liberties Union and stored on a secure server.
Gas taxes can no longer provide the revenue to keep up with our needs. We should look at alternative ways to pay for roads and transit systems.
Although mail-in votes raise concerns for voter fraud, Texas absentee ballots are expected to play a major hand in the 33rd Congressional District race on July 31.
The past few months have seen a flurry of new state laws restricting abortion, most of them based on the concept of “fetal pain.”
The House Rules Committee takes up a bill Monday called the "Repeal of Obamacare Act" that would wipe away the president's Affordable Care Act. A vote of the full House is planned for Wednesday.
The decades-old legal battle between states' rights and civil rights returns today to a familiar venue — a federal courtroom — as lawyers for the state of Texas try to convince a panel of judges that the Justice Department has no legal authority to block the state from immediately implementing a voter ID law.
As more states put in place strict voter ID rules, an AP review of temporary ballots from Indiana and Georgia, which first adopted the most stringent standards, found that more than 1,200 such votes were tossed during the 2008 general election.
More states are enacting or considering laws that prohibit people who get welfare cash from spending it on liquor, cigarettes, strip clubs, gambling and guns — laws that even supporters say are difficult to enforce.
The sports network signed on with NCC Media LLC, an ad-sales venture, to sell a larger portion of its advertising time to political campaigns.
Ted Cruz led Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst by 9 points in a recent internal poll conducted for the former Texas solicitor general’s campaign.
Michigan Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, who ran a quixotic presidential bid and then failed to get enough signatures to appear on the GOP ballot for his 6th term, announced he had resigned from office.
Governor Deval Patrick signed a $32.5 billion budget into law, vetoing $32.1 million in spending including a controversial decision to reject the Legislature’s efforts to keep open 45 beds at Taunton State Hospital while the need for psychiatric resources was being analyzed.
The state Senate authorized initial funding for California's high-speed rail project, handing a victory to Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration, which have been pushing hard for the first-in-the-nation bullet train.
President Obama signed legislation that provides $100 billion in funding for transportation projects and prevents interest rates on student loans from doubling.
Government travel is being cut, but not all travel is as wasteful as GSA’s was. Training and development are essential to organizational effectiveness.
The CIO of Roseville, Calif., discusses how this growing city has transformed its IT department, choosing to integrate with other city departments rather than remain separate.
President Barack Obama signed the new two-year transportation bill, which also included an extension of lower student loan interest rates Friday.
Gov. Scott Walker raised and spent nearly $7 million in his final days fighting off the June 5 recall against him in an election that likely will double the previous state spending record.
Subprime lender Countrywide Financial used hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with lawmakers and officials, a House report says.
Texas ranked dead last in the federal government's latest report card on the delivery of health services, falling short in areas ranging from acute hospital care to home treatment of the chronically ill.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation to tighten a loophole that allowed close relatives to help fugitives flee without fear of getting punished.
Republicans implemented a rule that prevents the Department of Health and Human Services from contracting with private family planning service providers.
A ballot measure asking Los Angeles County voters whether porn actors should be required to wear condoms during filming has received enough signatures to qualify for the November election.
Casting doubt on an ambitious state plan to move thousands of mentally ill adults out of nursing homes and into community-based programs, a federal court monitor reported that many of the patients don't want to leave the facilities while others were found to be unfit for the community placements.
President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney have fallen short thus far when it comes to targeting Latino voters electronically, according to some Spanish-language media experts.
In a blow to the Nutter administration's hopes for cost savings, the city's firefighters won three years of 3 percent raises from a panel of arbitrators who largely let stand an initial award from October 2010.
A higher office could become available this summer when Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, picks a running mate. Marco Rubio ranks high on most vice-president short-lists
Cudahy Mayor David M. Silva steps down. A councilman and the former head of code enforcement are also accused of taking money from a marijuana clinic owner.
The state of Michigan and its largest city have pledged cooperation to keep the city afloat. But neither quite trusts the other.
The High Sierra town of Mammoth Lakes says it is filing for bankruptcy because it cannot afford to pay a breach-of-contract judgment won by a developer.
After his primary opponent went to court over possible voting irregularities, Representative Charles B. Rangel urged constituents to wait for the final results before drawing conclusions.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter HIV test, allowing Americans to test themselves for the virus that causes AIDS in the privacy of their homes.
Both parties face the same problem after one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions in memory: their core voters are energized, either by rage or elation, but the independents who are likely to decide the 2012 elections may be ready to move on.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed voter ID bills that his fellow Republicans call an attempt to crack down on voter fraud, and critics characterize as a move to disenfranchise minority groups.
Alec Baldwin’s flirtation with a possible run for New York mayor may not be just for show, according to his little brother Billy, who said in an interview that the “30 Rock” star’s on-and-off political aspirations could actually be “very real.”
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney attempted to clarify his campaign's position on the individual mandate, calling the provision a “tax,” days after his top adviser said otherwise.
He said that could be a cheaper option for the move required by the health-care overhaul.
The Miami-Dade school district, together with federal agencies, law enforcement and social service groups, is working to raise awareness of human sex trafficking in an effort to prevent school-age kids from being lured into prostitution.
The state of Michigan has long disputed that it owes Detroit millions in unpaid bills that led to a legal challenge of the city's consent agreement. Now it's going to court to try to prove it.
The California Assembly Transportation Committee unanimously passed the SB 1298 bill Monday, which regulates autonomous vehicles.
The state is using motion-activated, talking urinal cakes to raise men's awareness about drunk driving.
The state of Texas is preparing to foot the entire $40 million bill for the Women’s Health Program (WHP) in the event that the U.S. District Court finds that Planned Parenthood can continue providing services under the program.
St. Clair county became the first in Michigan to enact a merit-based pay program for its teachers.
Data shows more teenage drivers are killed on the holiday than any other day. View state totals for each month.
The financially strapped city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will have to wait until at least November 30 before it can file for bankruptcy — that’s the decision from the state legislature and Governor Tom Corbett.
A growing number of Republican lawmakers and state Medicaid officials – including those in Florida, Texas and at least seven other states – have said they may opt out of the new health care Medicaid expansion.
Hospitals could push states to expand their Medicaid enrollment, as they stand to gain millions if more people have insurance -- or lose millions if they don't.
After months of debate and negotiation over Metro’s Silver Line rail extension, all eyes will be on Loudoun County on Tuesday as the Board of Supervisors decides on commitment to the project. If approved it would bring Metrorail to Dulles International Airport and eastern Loudoun.
The network of agencies that provide social services to Kansans — SRS, KDOA, KDHE — are being scrambled in what officials are claiming is the biggest reorganization in the history of Kansas state government. The end result should be more streamlined and efficient services.
The number of people receiving food stamps has hit a record high during the recent recession and is holding steady. But that has not been the case for welfare. In some states, welfare participation rates have actually decreased over the past few years.
Manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly three years as new orders plummeted, according to one measure of the sector that provided a stark sign of the economic recovery's slowdown.
Sharply increased fines and fees levied by money-starved towns across the country and the for-profit businesses that administer the system have resulted in growing numbers of poor people ending up jailed and in debt for minor infractions.
Many combat veterans will try to stay far away from fireworks displays. I because the sights and sounds take them back to combat and serve as a reminder of sudden death and injury.
Plus: The problems with digital textbooks and more management news
The new technology will improve worker safety, cut down on repair time and save money.
Republicans are playing a risky political game as they make their contempt for the federal health care law a key element of their campaigns.
South Carolina's Republican lawmakers expressed deep disappointment with the Supreme Court’s health care ruling, but they said voters will deliver the final verdict in November at the ballot box.
Eight of the nine Massachusetts State Universities have increased their annual fees by an average of 6 percent amid decreases in state funding.
Nearly half of uninsured Americans could qualify for the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, if fully implemented. View a map for details on your state.
Congress on Friday signed off on a deal to halt an increase in student loan interest rates that could affect more than 7 million people — clearing the way for President Barack Obama’s signature.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law that could shut down the only abortion clinic in the state.
Six states still have work to do to finish their budgets before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. But barring a late surprise, only one state is at risk of a government shutdown because of incomplete budget work: New Jersey.
Home to more than half of the public corporations in America, Delaware has always drawn the ire of other states for the billions in tax dollars it drains away. Now it is drawing increasing fire for the proliferation of illegal businesses due to extremely loose incorporation laws.
Lobbyists from big soda companies have met with Mayoral candidates and City Council members and canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping New Yorkers on the street and urging them to sign petitions indicating the industry plans to fight back hard against the ban.
As on the ground technology improves and budget cuts affect funding, many states have cut back or stopped using aircraft for traffic enforcement in recent years.
A federal offensive against medical marijuana dispensaries has brought chaos to the industry across California. Over 500 locations have been shut down in the last eight months, and cities with their own regulations are becoming frustrated.
An executive order from Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has made the state one of the most difficult for felons to regain their right to vote.
For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutionally coercive toward states.
Gov. Nikki Haley told the House Ethics Committee that she hasn’t broken the state ethics law, hurling back accusations against the man who has alleged for months that she did. None of the witnesses who testified alleged any wrongdoing by the governor.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), the first attorney general in the nation to file a lawsuit over President Obama’s health-care overhaul, said the ruling upheld individual liberty and curbed federal power even as it left the law in place.
Suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi testified that he committed a violent act against his wife, and that such conduct falls below official standards of his staff and reflects adversely on the department.
Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) made it official that he had filed paperwork to run for lieutenant governor next year.
Massachusetts laid the groundwork for the 2010 federal health care overhaul with its 2006 health care law. The state and federal plans share a key component: an individual mandate requiring nearly everyone have insurance or face tax penalties.
Republicans are doubling down on promises to repeal the healthcare reform law in the wake of the Supreme Court decision upholding President Obama's signature legislation.
The Legislature approved a historic restructuring of the state higher education system that merges the troubled University of Medicine and Dentistry into Rutgers University and makes Rowan University part of a sprawling new collegiate complex in South Jersey.
When the high court upheld the requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, Republicans and GOP strategists vowed to double down in swing states such as Colorado to try to turn the tables of power.
As wildfires streak across a parched and scorched Utah, cities and counties are restricting the use of private fireworks. A few towns have banned them altogether, and their use is now prohibited on all public lands outside of incorporated areas.
Some states are set to pick up the pace on establishing their insurance exchanges, while others could wait for the November election.
Immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act, a large amount of tweets were released claiming that the individual mandate was ruled unconstitutional. The sources of these mis-tweets included federal officials and broadcast news networks .
Obama blames the states, but the problem is more complicated.
Satirical accounts for politicians and public officials are almost as numerous as their real-life counterparts.
The police chief's rejection of zero-tolerance policing that’s driven urban crime fighting for a generation may change the future of public safety in America.
View an interactive map with updated figures for the 1,000 largest U.S. cities.
After stepping down as head of the Government Accountability Office, David Walker started drawing the nation’s roadmap to fiscal sustainability that’s also applicable to states and cities.
Even when you include airfare and meals, having public employees travel abroad for health care -- which a growing number of public entities are offering as an option -- can be significantly cheaper.
Pittsburgh has begun to shift funds away from impounding and euthanizing cats and dogs toward a free spaying and neutering program.
Just a day before it would have expired, the Senate and House approve a two-year bill.
The decision leaves an apparent loophole for states to opt out of the law's Medicaid eligibility expansion.
In Baltimore, a new study showed that a 10 percent increase in tree cover yielded at least a 12 percent decrease in crime.
Seven states have enacted drug testing for welfare applicants in an effort to cut costs and combat fraud -- but it’s not clear the move does either.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking voters to pay a half-cent sales tax longer so he can finish his plans to improve the highway and subway systems quicker.
Tennessee made a bid (again) to become the nation’s most socially conservative state by voting on bills regarding school prayer, sex education, climate change and abortion.
The average citizen isn’t interested in government-tracked measurements. But if it’s results-based data that directly affects their lives, they might be.
Participatory budgeting, which started in Latin America, lets citizens determine spending priorities.
