Archive
Portrait of a party-switcher. Houston Chronicle
Why California redistricting is a "con job." Sacramento Bee
MA Gov Romney: Polygamist skeletons in the closet. ...
posted by Zach Patton
The chance to win a million bucks? Public embarrassment if you don't make the grade?
What is this, a game show? ...
My "pension doom ahead" folder is bursting with clips lately.
E.J. McMahon, writing in today's WSJ (paid subsc), argues that public pension ...
posted by Josh Goodman
One more item is itching to get out of my notepad after my trip to NCSL's annual meeting last week. I ...
To you, a mattress may be just a comfy place to pass out at the end of the day. But to city council members in ...
We gave you a Heads Up about this a little earlier, but it deserves a little more discussion.
You can hardly blame Sharpe James. He ...
Pensions: The state sweetens, the city pays. NYT
MA Lt. Gov. candidate is touring the state by kayak. Boston Globe blog
New NY law will ...
Up here on the 13th Floor, we talk a lot among ourselves about how the nation's best and brightest are now more likely to work ...
For Chicagoans, the days of dining on fatty duck and goose livers are drawing to a close. The city council ban on selling foie gras ...
New AZ law speeds up school construction to keep place with population boom. Arizona Daily Star
Here's IN Gov. Mitch Daniels singing a Hank Williams ...
In the current issue of Governing, my colleague Jonathan Walters relates how some governments are trying to package performance reports (which, he notes, typically "...
Sinking ships, airplanes or even piles of rocks in the ocean to form aritificial reefs is a good idea. My dad, an avid SCUBA diver ...
There's been a lot of talk about how Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski's third place finish in the Republican primary is a dramatic reversal of fortune ...
Yesterday, after a brief search for a cheap used car, I shifted gears and bought a cheap, new car. It's a little red hatchback with ...
One year after Katrina, a skyscraper, and other things, grow in Mobile. WSC (subsc req'd)
If terror strikes DC, West Virginia disaster planners want to ...
Wandering around the NCSL website the other day, I stumbled on some interesting figures on the gender makeup of legislatures. Women comprise about 23 percent of ...
America's drunkest (and therefore not angry?) cities. Forbes
America's angriest (and therefore not drunk?) cities. Men's Health
SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson has an illegal yard. ...
A couple weeks ago, Ellen wrote about the HeaterMeal® she picked up at the National Association of Counties meeting in Chicago. They're pre-cooked, self-heating meals ...
The Washington Post yesterday ran a long piece that pretty well sums up the state of play of John McCain's presidential aspirations, the ways in ...
Counties - this question's for you. Since returning from the National Association of Counties meeting in Chicago three weeks ago, what steps have you taken ...
The controversy is over: AL Dems remove their opposition to lesbian state house nominee Patricia Todd. Birmingham News
The housing crisis goes suburban. Washington Post
...
You could forgive Maryland Guv hopeful Martin O'Malley if Watergate crossed his mind. It seems an intruder broke into his Baltimore campaign office the other ...
In the past, we've spilled some ink in praise of Keith Richman and Joe Canciamilla, two members of the California Assembly who have tried hard ...
The name "spam" was originally short for "shoulder of pork and ham." Now it's what I call all the e-mails that ...
Is industrial space necessary in the gentrified city? Washington Post
DNA evidence is so "hot" right now that states are neglecting other forms ...
Years ago--okay, decades--when I went off to college, I took along several plastic milk crates. They had served me well as storage units in my ...
Can a Mid-American mom survive a month without a car? Grist
A shallower Lake Erie means deep troubles. Buffalo News
Can microchips end traffic congestion? ...
Many pages in my notebook have been filled by officials telling me that tax increases will scare off businesses and are the last thing that ...
When it comes to disaster preparedness, sometimes you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. Just ask the folks in storm-wary south ...
Probably everyone reading this (actually, probably everyone in the country) remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. You probably even remember specifically how you spent that ...
How the Army Corps lost New Orleans. Grist
Illinois' "Taj Mahal" on the auction block? Daily Southtown
Automated calls from politicians? Not in ...
posted by Zach Patton
Here's something you might not know: A lot of people live in California. Yeah, I know! Who would have ...
Here's a cute little story: Brandon Dickens tried to skip out on jury duty in Michigan, returning late after lunch. Judge David Reader got mad ...
Apparently, former VA Gov. Mark Warner has entered his Second Life. Nah, he's not dead.
He's just joined the online alternate universe called ...
A blockbuster real estate deal complicates Bloomberg's affordable housing goals. NYT
The biotech world is flat. MidwestBusiness.com
Back in black: Ft. Worth police cars ...
Bob Leeper, a Kentucky state senator, is running for reelection. Nothing remarkable about that, except that the former Democrat who turned Republican last time around ...
It didn't work in Virginia, but Dallas is thinking about banning baggy pants. Dallas Morning News
MI voters not sold on the push to end ...
Youngsters across the country are headed back to school this week, so it's a good time for a reminder of what it's like to be ...
An article in the Seattle Weekly bemoans the difficulty of finding a map that shows the city's bus routes overlaid on a comprehensive street grid. ...
DC Mayor: Who Should Chris Vote For? Boring Establishment Candidate Brash Charismatic Candidate Make Free Polls
Help! Next Tuesday, we here in Washington, D.C., ...
The ethanol debate sometimes seems like "Field of Dreams." It's the same today that it was ten years ago and there's lots of ...
A greenbelt grows in Atlanta. NYT
Google tests a transit wayfinder. Google
On affordable higher ed, most states fail. AP, study
In Portland, OR, a ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks Cubans and Puerto Ricans are "hot" and fiesty because of their mix of "Black blood" and "Latino ...
We've heard tons about the policy merits of Massachusetts' new health care plan, which, among other things, requires that all state residents obtain health insurance. ...
posted by Josh Goodman
With the official Labor Day kickoff of campaign season behind us, you can bet my inbox is filling up with spam. ...
Regulations in Houston make it hard to be pedestrian-friendly. Houston Chronicle
OR community opts off the grid. Seattle Times
CA's CO2 limit: All hot air. ...
From state and federal election results this November, we'll get a good idea of where the American people stand on immigration reform. But if you ...
Thank goodness it's primary election day in the District of Columbia. Maybe now I'll stop hearing from a lot of my new "friends." ...
Is there a glut of condotels in FL? South Florida Sun-Sentinel
IL plans to raise special-ed class sizes. Chicago Sun-Times
New Orleans schools chief hits ...
The winner of today's Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C., is all but assured of taking over the job next year. Don't put ...
Is race the most important issue confronting the city of Chicago? Reading today's edition of the Sun-Times, you might think it is.
Mayor Daley, armed ...
If you follow California politics closely, you've probably heard the buzz that the reason the Democratic legislature has been willing to make so nice with ...
Every person I asked in Arizona a couple of weeks ago told me that Len Munsil, the gubernatorial candidate who won the Republican nomination last ...
Hedging bets: In NE, Dems want their candidate listed on the ballot twice. Lincoln Journal Star
The problems with MD's electronic voting system aren't electronic ...
posted by Zach Patton
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels stopped by 13th Floor HQ the other day to discuss what's going on in Hoosier Country.
Daniels ...
Ladies Drink Full Price! Tampa wants to ban drink specials. St. Pete Times
NV okays Wiccan symbol for soldier's plaque. AP
Is a rolling pin ...
Two days later, it's still a little surprising that William Donald Schaefer lost his job as Maryland comptroller. Not only did he lose (his first ...
Brace yourselves. In the next week you'll hear more than you probably cared to know about Jim McGreevey's sex life. As the ex-NJ Guv's tell-all ...
Poll: Midwesterners concerned about money in government, but they're REALLY concerned with gas prices. AP
"You've Got Sex Offenders." Cook County considers sex-offender ...
Who knew? S. Dakota nation's 4th largest banking center. Argus Leader
Next DC mayor plots takeover of schools. WaPo
Katrina evacuees wearing out their welcome ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
Iowa governors have been a homey bunch.
Herschel Loveless (1957-1961) had been a railroad engineer and parking meter salesman -- as ...
The Des Moines Register yesterday reprinted an article I wrote for Governing a few months ago about collaboration among local governments in Iowa.
That's not ...
Here's the latest gubernatorial election news cluttering my Inbox:
* Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich circulates a video message in which he says, "When you think ...
Amid all of the justifiable concern about underfunded public pension systems, most recently in Alaska, it's easy not to notice that some places appear to ...
Jewish leaders: God positively abhors foie gras. Can't stand the stuff. Chicago Sun-Times
Is Buffalo's losing streak over? NYT
Ex-Gov. Jim McGreevey's affair turns into &...
The Bush administration sent "the loyal and the willing instead of the best and the brightest" to govern Iraq in the early days ...
Wanna know how to hack the election? Not only have some scientists at Princeton told us how to do it. They've also made a hacker-friendly ...
A couple days ago, the federal government and the New York State government announced they would occupy a large chunk (1 million sq ft out of ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
I've been waiting for this. The Heartland Institute is the first, on my radar at any rate, to lay blame for ...
WA tries all-mail-in voting; turnout dips to lowest point in years. Olympian
NYC is the safest big city -- again. NYDN
A green community grows ...
Now that Deval Patrick has taken the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Massachusetts, there's a pretty good chance that the nation will have an African-American governor. (...
Time magazine writers this week prove the importance of writing about what you know -- even if what you know is only a cliche.
Reviewing ...
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds spent part of his day Tuesday urging hunters to get into better shape. Rounds said they would feel better tramping ...
Tommy Thompson, the former governor of Wisconsin and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, is touting a four-part Medicaid makeover. The program, ...
Henry Cisneros' life as a homebuilder. WSJ (subs req'd)
The best day of the year to be the governor of Alaska. Anchorage Daily News
The ...
On the ballot: 187 propositions in 32 states. Here's all of them. Initiative & Referendum Institute
The rise of CA's "exclusive electorate." Public Policy Institute ...
Now I'm all in favor of town hall meetings, feedback sessions, listening tours, whatever you want to call 'em. But this is pretty funny. The ...
You may recall that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson gave a speech in April in which he boasted about denying a federal contract to someone who ...
A few months ago, we told you about a new Ohio law requiring everyone that does business with the state to affirm that they don't ...
Picking a major in 8th grade? In SC, t's the law. Greenville News
Pay phones: Once a lifeline, now a fun street game. CNET
...
Seattle's monorail has had its fair share of problems: In 2004, a fire from a mechanical failure sent eight people to the
hospital because of smoke ...
Attention, everyone who gets annoyed by politicians' calls to your house: Maybe you should consider a move to Indiana.
The state's attorney general is suing ...
At NM's much ballyhooed spaceport, the inaugural launch ends in a crash. SPACE.com
Private prison stocks soaring. WSJ (subs req'd)
Dallas considers oil rigs ...
I had dinner the other night with a group that included a member of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's cabinet. We talked about how this governor ...
For the first time in Alaska state history, the outcome of a legislative race has been determined by a coin toss.
Bryce Edgmon and incumbent ...
I'm pretty certain that people who are sensitive to the needs of strangers on public transit don't do their good deeds with the hope of ...
It's a good time for large chain retailers in Chicago. First came Mayor Daley's veto two weeks ago of a city ordinance that would have ...
People who visit the 13th Floor probably have heard the term metropolitan "donuts" -- regions where the central city population is shrinking or ...
Wait -- Carole Keeton Strayhorn wants baseball players to handle counterterrorism?! Austin American-Statesman
SHOCKING! CA lawmakers are anti-global warming, yet they drive gas guzzlers. SF ...
With Election Day not much more than a month away, we're already on the hunt for clues about what the mood of voters will really ...
TX legislators poised to break 28-year-old spending cap. Austin American-Statesman
Albuquerque does what New Mexico couldn't/didn't. Free New Mexican
When it comes to education, ...
posted by Josh Goodman
There are lots of ways to get a sense, prior to Election Day, how a political party is going to fare. ...
In Miami, a move against the strong-mayor plan. Miami Herald
Bringing A/C to the Arctic Circle. Chicago Tribune
Natural irony: Wildlife waste pollutes waterways. ...
Pittsburgh's boy mayor, et al: Does maturity matter? Post-Gazette
Govs as White House hopefuls: Romney vs. Warner. Politics NH
TN Teacher wants Bible as only ...
As I wrote in October's Governing, mid-century modernism is turning 50. That means a slew of ranch houses, boxy glass office buildings and mimimalist concrete monuments ...
Commuters in Washington, as in many other big cities, are often handed free tabloid newspapers nowadays. For some reason, the freebies generate more litter than ...
Looks like Daley's gearing up for a sixth term. Chicago Sun-Times
A public hospital on life support. LA Times
IL county recruits nation's first volunteer ...
Whether you agree with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's opinion on a 'big box' minimum wage, you can see his point: If your city requires chain-store ...
Twenty years ago in his novel Roger's Version, John Updike wrote, "The Devil is the absence of doubt."
That's a sentiment that Andrew ...
Who are all those Goldman Sachs alums running New Jersey? NY Times
Omaha discovers urban design. Metropolis
What to do with that obsolete convention center? ...
By now, you may have heard of Charleston, SC, city councilman Larry Shirley. He recently advocated sterilization for parents who can't take care of their ...
Mormons like walkability in SLC. Salt Lake Tribune
Are online classes easy As? UC cracks down. SacBee
"Do they wear shoes?" One city's ...
Still doubting global warming? Alaskans aren't--and they have a better read on the situation than the rest of us. A new poll shows that four ...
When I saw the headline of this story in the Des Moines Register, "Election watchdog calls residency law out of date," I have ...
Reporters generally dislike press spokespeople. That's mostly because the P.R. folks, whom we call "flacks," make more money than we do. But ...
Arnold Schwarzennegger is in gaffe trouble again. Last week was "hot-blooded Latinas" week, or maybe it was something else; it's hard to keep ...
We're not working today because, frankly, neither are you. This is a new holiday for us here on the 13th floor -- thanks HR! -- ...
You've probably heard about "fried Coke," the latest delicacy at the fried-food bonanza that is the Texas State Fair. Well, I had the ...
A couple of years ago, I wrote a short article about the mayoral race in Rabbit Hash, a small town along the Ohio River in ...
Feds investigate African-American suppression of MS white vote. NYT
What if you spent millions to develop a website, and no one came? San Diego ...
How green are my governors? A round-up on candidates and the environment. Grist
PA legislator: Air fill-ups at gas stations should be free. Daily Review
...
I wrote a feature investigating two related puzzles for the October issue of Governing: Why have so many gubernatorial candidates won elections in unfriendly places (...
Most reports and studies have no impact. But one released just this week has already resulted in a change in state policy.
Human Rights Watch ...
Here's the second part of my series on why Democratic governors have thrived in Republican state and vice versa:
Explanation #4: For them to get elected ...
Here are my final two explanations for all those puzzling governors:
Explanation #7: Many states prefer one party in today's presidential elections, but have a rich ...
If there's any state where it's clear that Democrats will clean up next month, it's New York. Hillary Clinton will get a big win in ...
Why do fewer people vote these days? WSJ (paid subsc)
Forget hacking. Vote fraud's real problem is the voter database. MIT Tech Review
Inner city ...
"SayWa" is dead. The State of Washington's nonsensical tourism slogan lasted only six months before officials retired the five-letter failure. Let the record ...
Here comes the next battle royale for control of a big-city school system. And it's happening right here on the streets below the 13th floor. ...
Joel Kotkin looks to Population: 400 Million. WSJ (subs req'd)
Arnold & Bloomberg buddy up. NYT
Freak dancing: Obscene or just the new tango? LA Times
...
Remember California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia? She of the hot Latina blood?
Well now she's under fire for making her own political gaffe. She's apologizing ...
Everyone loves riverfront property, there's just never quite enough of it. But now Nashville has a solution: Build more rivers.
The city and the Army ...
"I smiled politely but I had no idea what you were saying." So said a non-techie National Parks Service employee, referring to the ...
Huh? FL anti-smoking program worked great...so the state got rid of it. Tampa Tribune
Houston getting on board smoking ban wagon. Chronicle
Cook ...
Indiana Democrats have real hopes of taking back the state House next month. One GOP incumbent they won't beat, however, is Kathy Kreag Richardson. She's ...
Arizona ranked dumbest in the U.S. AZ Republic
Newark Mayor Cory Booker's first 100 days. NYT
In KS, some GOPers are turning into Dems. WaPo
...
Winston Churchill and state chief information officers. Not usually grouped in the same category as examples of great leadership.
Unless Churchill's granddaughter is speaking to ...
Democrats, who currently hold 22 governorships, will have several more after the November elections.
So says Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts and head of the ...
posted by Alan Greenblatt
As everyone knows, things are also looking grim for Republican control of the U.S. House.
Even conservative commentators, such as ...
The fried Coca-Cola craze is on. According to the Dallas Morning News, two more states--Arizona and North Carolina--are joining Texas in serving fried Coke at ...
IL city wants to force residents to put a sticker with a cross on it on their cars. Chicago Tribune
NJ bill would ban aluminum ...
Have you heard? The English language is under attack!
Immigrants are moving here and bringing their own languages. States are printing voting instructions ...
As you've probably read, California just announced that, for the first time, the state will send inmates to be housed in private prisons in other ...
In Chicago, recess may be making a comeback. Tribune
Black mayors becoming more common in Mississippi. Memphis Commercial Appeal
Urban renewal's final implosion. Washington Post
...
A nationwide bee shortage, and the Beehive State is on the front lines. Salt Lake Tribune
Atlanta's getting a civil rights museum. Thanks, Coca-Cola! Atlanta ...
Here on the 13th Floor, it's pretty hard not to think of things in political terms. We're in D.C., we cover state and local ...
Hospitals, stuck with "frequent flyers," give free basic care a whirl. NYT
How Europe won the war against hospital infections. Slate
Someone on ...
With a month's worth of spam rotting in my Inbox, here's the latest gubernatorial election news...
This story about Daley, Bloomberg and about 100 other mayors forming a coalition to protest the easy availability of "illegal guns" gives me an ...
Here are two takes on that ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court:
1) "NJ Court Stops Short of Gay Marriage OK"
2) "N....
Alcohol in your bag? No taxi for you! Washington Post
In Dodge City, KS, street gangs are replacing Old West gunfights. Topeka Capital-Journal
First sprawl ...
IL Supreme Court chief sues columnist to restore his name. Chicago Sun-Times
For a picture of an Indianapolis a Bloomington, IN, city councilman dressed as ...
What's happening in Idaho? The Gem State is one of the most solidly Republican in the country. It's a sure entry in the "red&...
Vote early in OR and get a pass on the last-minute ad blitz. Oregonian
How faith influences the White House. NYT
Public money supporting KY ...
With Election Day just over a week away, naturally the closest races are getting the most attention. But does that mean that citizens are receiving ...
I don't collect stories about waste in the wide world of homeland security, but if you do, here's a good one.
A high-tech $160,000 machine was ...
Buuurn! Miss Idaho refuses to be photographed with Gov. Jim Rische. Idaho Statesman
What Dems would do with an IN House majority. Indy Star
Can't ...
This type of coverage drives me nuts. From this morning's New York Times article on state legislative elections: "Most significantly, the groundwork for redrawing ...
