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Facing ever-increasing costs for health care, officials in Vermont
have brokered a landmark deal with the federal government. The state
will get more flexibility in managing and distributing Medicaid funds.
In exchange, it will accept a limit on the amount of federal Medicaid
money it receives over the next five years.
President Bush's proposal to change the way urban grants work raises
questions about local economic development that have been ignored for
too long.
Suburban life revolves around the car. When elderly residents are no
longer able to drive, getting around gets complicated.
Chicago is bringing municipal bonds to the masses.
Few Gulf Coast issuers have reneged on outstanding bonds since
hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the area. But concern about their
ability to continue to make payments is growing.
Happy days are here again for tax collectors. The ongoing Streamlined
Sales Tax Project went live in October, with 150 small to large
Internet retailers signing up that month. With the backup of third-
party service providers, they will collect sales taxes on online
purchases in the 18 states that participated in the streamlining
effort.
Policy wonks are having a field day with creative ideas to rebuild the
Gulf Coast. But action is likely to be the same old-same old.
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson can charter a new school anytime he
wants. That gives him lots of power--and lots of headaches as well.
Patronage and hiring violations are facts of life in almost all
governments.
When public officials seek to totally eliminate risk in the wake of a tragedy, you can be certain they're not thinking about the high cost of no risk.
If you could create your own system of campaign finance laws that encourages and prioritizes transparency and disclosure, what would they look like?
On Thursday, the White House announced the winners of their Leading Practices initiative -- agencies that proactively attained a higher standard of transparency.
A national immigration policy requires a level of collaboration that
none of the major players is willing to risk.
Anyone who's ever wanted to buy the Brooklyn Bridge can take heart:
Chicago just auctioned off its Skyway toll bridge to the highest
bidder. The 99-year, $1.83 billion lease went to the Cintra-Macquarie
Consortium. The sale marks the first privatization of an existing
tollway in the United States.
A growing number of states don't want to be part of free-trade pacts
that block their purchasing preferences.
As school districts try to stretch their tech dollars, they are
testing ways to bring the Internet and mobile computing to the
classroom.
A handful of police departments across the country are testing mobile
biometric devices that can process a suspect's fingerprints at the
scene of a crime and then match that print within minutes against
arrest records and outstanding warrants.
Cracked concrete and calls for walkability are pushing cities to focus
on long-neglected pavement.
When state legislators move up to the U.S. Congress, they seem to
forget their roots.
Dave Heineman has done all sorts of jobs in Nebraska government. With
his boss leaving for Washington, he's about to get the big one.
Public transit exists to move people efficiently from Point A to
Point B. But if riders can be sold something along the way, that's
good too, right? A financial services firm, ING Direct, thinks so. The
company is offering to buy one morning's free ride for everyone using
a big city's rail system in return for being allowed to market its
services in the stations.
Gathering all the public input you can may sound like a good idea, but
it's often more of a pain than a panacea.
Joint-purchasing deals are a win-win proposition--except for those who
lose.
There are some tough-sounding new lobby laws. It remains to be seen
how much they amount to.
Although voters' reactions to ballot measures in November didn't
signal a taxpayer revolt, there is still growing momentum in some
states to respond to budget pressures and the weak economy by enacting
spending limits. Property taxes are a perennial source of discussion.
In the debate over urban teardowns, where developers knock down 1,500-square-foot houses to build 4,500-square-foot McMansions, there are two big questions: Is there anything wrong with replacing older small houses with newer big ones?
Piecemeal reforms show the unwillingness of policy makers to take bold
steps to deal with the nation's health care crisis.
This was a survey that would have made Betsy Ross proud: hundreds of
flag experts studied the flags of 150 U.S. cities on the Internet and
rated them. And when the results came in last fall, Washington, D.C.,
could proudly boast that it has the best municipal flag in the land.
About $2,500 worth of checks was bouncing each semester before the
high school in Grossmont, California, adopted a no-check policy. But
that doesn't mean that students have to come to school with wads of
cash for their books, cheerleader uniforms, prom tickets and class
rings. Instead, they can take plastic to an automatic teller machine
and get the cash they need--right at school.
In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, private ferry
company NY Waterway proved a lifesaver for 65,000 commuters as highway
and rail access between New Jersey and Manhattan was cut off ["Do You
Believe in Ferries?" March 2003].
The states can expect to bear the fiscal burden of major changes in
federal taxes and domestic spending.
Republicans may be suspicious of federal power, but they're imposing
it on states and localities every chance they get.
Is gambling a great source of revenue for states and localities, or a peril-filled recreation?
The national highway system is marking its Golden Anniversary, but
that's not much cause for celebration.
When it comes to using technology to streamline the health care
system, the biggest buzz is about digitizing individuals' health
records--putting them in a standardized format and connecting them via
the Web.
Left for dead, corporate income taxes are making an unexpected
contribution to state income.
The U.S. Supreme Court is going to rule on racial quotas in the
schools. The decision may shape social policy for decades.
California's term-limit law was turning Assembly speakers into
ciphers--until Fabian Nunez came along.
A growing number of localities are experimenting with alternatives to
annual financial reports to inform citizens about government
performance.
New Jersey's budget has been built on illusion for a long time. This
year, reality intruded.
The old custom of starting class after Labor Day is gone in most of
the country. Not everyone likes that.
Who's got more clout in a state--the governor or the attorney general?
In New York, that's not an easy question.
When the term-limit clock starts ticking for legislators, state jobs
begin to look more attractive.
After 10 years, Dallas' light-rail system is so successful, it's hard
to imagine how close it came to foundering. As the Dallas Morning News
recounted recently, the 45-mile rail system has begun reshaping its
region.
In the wake of falling test scores, states are looking at pay-
incentive plans to encourage teachers to push their students toward
higher academic performance.
Florida's legislature has passed what may be the nation's strictest
guidelines for long-term-care insurance. "We think this is going to
become a model for the nation," says Bob Lotane, spokesman for the
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
What does it mean for government when political leaders routinely set unrealistic goals that go unrealized? Goals lose their power to guide and inspire.
In the aftermath of drastic reductions in TennCare, Tennessee's
Medicaid-plus program, the state is once again expanding coverage
beyond the Medicaid population.
It sounds like a drama-series finale where the scriptwriters can't
agree: Michigan's unusual Single Business Tax is going to die, but how
remains a matter of debate.
The American marketplace is awash in illegal fake products.
Governments are supposed to police them, but most don't.
Whether it's widening an old road or upgrading an intersection,
transportation changes the way an area develops and functions.
Cities are starting to use scholarships to local colleges to keep
promising young people from moving away.
Over the past decade, political chaos and bureaucratic mismanagement
turned Big D into a Big Mess. It's struggling to recover.
A handful of states are beginning to focus on the need to preserve digital documents.
Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that 2006 may be something more
than a routine veto year.
Creating buffer zones around schools and other public places can make
entire cities off-limits.
The real estate lobby is under serious competitive challenge, but no
pressure group is better at bending legislatures to its will.
Gun violence is a problem that governments at every level wish
somebody else would solve.
Sensing trouble in the fall, Iowa's Senate Republicans have turned to
Mary Lundby to bail them out.
Massive trucks are tearing up fragile state highways. And more of them
are out there every year.
Comparing local government practices and performance among neighboring
communities is rare but rewarding.
When a hurricane strikes Florida, the first concern of residents is to
protect their homes and evacuate if necessary. The Florida Turnpike
Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation, sees its
job as providing a safe haven as evacuees travel the road.
Milwaukee's school district will send the Internet to students' homes.
If more Hispanics voted, they could change American politics. But
there are reasons why they don't.
Internet access on buses and subways can turn car-centric commuters
into mass transit riders--if the technology works.
A national immigration policy requires a level of collaboration that
none of the major players is willing to risk.
Cory Booker's gifts are such that his political future seems
limitless. But to move on, he has to make a record in Newark.
"Shaming" is a trend in code enforcement. It involves putting a big sign in front of a weedy lot or tumbledown house with the name and phone number of the owner. But it's important to be selective, a Milwaukee city official told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. If the owner can afford the improvements but just won't spend the money, a sign goes up. But if an owner can't afford them, it doesn't.
When voters think legislators are living too well at public expense,
they pounce.
Most states are debating new ways of handling eminent-domain cases, but Utah already has a means: a private-property ombudsman--the first (and still only) such ombudsman in the country.
What started as a rift in the AFL-CIO has intensified into a fervent
contest between the public employee unions over new recruits.
You'd think, given New York's recent, painful experience, that the
last thing any city would want to do is put itself through the
marathon effort of bidding for the Summer Olympic Games.
Although Iowa failed in its efforts to make municipalities
consolidate, collaboration is happening at the grassroots level.
The battleground over smoking restrictions is shifting from bars and restaurants to cars and the great outdoors.
It's one thing to use the carrot to encourage healthy behavior. It's
another to use the stick--especially on children.
Politicians and the media "do democracy a disservice" by resorting to
cliches.
After the devastating hurricanes of last year, Florida and the Gulf Coast states are turning to the municipal bond market to guarantee that their insurers of last resort are solvent for another potentially damaging storm season.
America is a nation of majority rule, and one outcome of that is that
the majority typically looks out for its economic interests. Take the
uneven treatment of property taxes.
Chicago Public Schools awarded grants for schools to implement the iPad, and will work to make sure the tablet helps to teach -- not entice.
The Asian giant isn't stealing our manufacturing jobs. The jobs,
themselves, are evaporating.
Middle-aged suburbs with a disproportionate number of houses from the
1950s and '60s are in trouble.
"527" groups are a mysterious but increasingly powerful force in
American elections. One state has cracked down on them; others are
trying.
How states and localities lost ground after their Supreme Court win on eminent domain--a tool they can use to turn around dying or dangerous neighborhoods.
What we're seeing is moderate Republicans being picked off by
organized conservative opposition.
An unconventional design should ease traffic at a major interchange
A federal mandate that states love to hate, Real ID may also harbor
some hidden opportunities.
Surrogacy is becoming more common, and lawmakers must confront a host
of tough questions.
Reformers dismiss them. Experts call them obsolete. But we can't give
up on school boards, because they're needed.
The fight over public subsidies to corporations is nearing a crucial
decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a city that doesn't hand its mayors much power, Phil Gordon knows
how to go out and get it.
Policy makers are demanding unified databases, but mixing and matching
data are more difficult than they think.
Lead paint is a serious health problem. Will it become a hot
litigation subject? Probably not.
How do we keep kids in high school? One answer: Get them through
freshman year.
Mike Langberg, a technology columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, dropped by a conference on "smart parking" recently. What he found was mind-boggling. Among the big ideas: You'll be able to use the Internet to reserve a parking meter before leaving home. Even if you forget to make a reservation, a navigation screen in your dashboard will direct you to a vacant spot.
States and localities are outsourcing more of their services, but
management of the contracts is in dire need of an upgrade.
Eyewitness identification doesn't always mesh with DNA evidence, and
that's leading police departments to rethink their lineup procedures.
Government-backed reinsurance could make health coverage more
affordable for the middle class.
Eminent domain is now a hammer property rights proponents are using to
alter zoning codes.
Nobody does constituent service better than Adrian Fenty. But as
D.C.'s chief executive, he'll need a much bigger repertoire.
Woodrow Wilson's term as governor of New Jersey had a major impact on
the future of state government in America.
New federal rules are forcing utilities to significantly upgrade how
they treat drinking water supplies.
Child-abuse victims are given many years to press charges. They're
saying they need more.
California's new institution for sex offenders is in such a remote
place that it may never function efficiently.
The death of Seattle's monorail plan is a telling tale of the failure
to capitalize on grassroots energy and gumption.
Small towns and cities are finding high-speed Internet access is as
close as their electric grid.
S. David Freeman has been shaking up public agencies for half a
century. He doesn't see any reason to stop.
When citizens take to the streets, they learn more than just where
problems are; they learn whose job it is to fix them.
Among the architectural delights of older cities are row houses:
tall, slender homes that stand shoulder to shoulder along city
streets. This most elegant of urban housing styles is coming back, but
with two differences.
Response time is the easiest but not necessarily the best measure of
performance.
Car insurance rates in the state can no longer be based first and
foremost on the driver's address.
Want to create acres of new parks, link long-divided parts of your downtown, beautify an ugly freeway and do so without condemning a square inch of private land? Put a deck on top of your freeways. About 20 cities have decked portions of their freeways and many others are considering it.
Half the people in Tennessee's motor vehicle offices don't need to be there. They could be getting their services online. Tennessee learned this by getting research assistance from its native logistics expert: Federal Express.
As biologic drugs enter the mainstream, they could break the Medicaid
bank--and the health care system.
Illegal immigrants working as day laborers present one of the
toughest, most divisive issues to land on local government's doorstep
in recent years.
A new state-backed service, Florida Compare Care, is bringing consumers and health care providers a new way to assess health care. The health statistics Web site, which went live this past November, lists prices for pharmaceutical and surgical procedures at Florida's hospitals and rates outcomes of common procedures performed there. The site, the first of its kind in the nation, will also include physician and health plan information.
Online profiles of politicians have become battlegrounds for both spin
doctors and mischief makers.
Tempe will lighten the load for businesses on a light-rail line.
Rising property values fomented tax reform in South Carolina, but
restrictions in the new law may haunt the state.
The latest wave of research parks have a different connection to the
global economy and the small tech companies they serve.
Supermarkets are slowly returning to the inner city. Some governments
are clearing roadblocks to help build stores.
Not since the expansion of railroads in the 19th century has such a
horde of international capitalists been so eager to invest in our
transportation.
During emergencies, citizens and even some disaster workers depend on
libraries for Internet connections to the world.
