Archive
Okay, how weird would it be to wax poetic about a parking garage? Well, here I go.
There I was, late as usual for a ...
The Des Moines school district is thinking about setting up a foundation that would be a vehicle for raising money for classroom projects and programs. ...
Here's a interesting new law: In Illinois, from now on, if you change your name and then run for office within three ...
What kind of state legislator was Obama? WaPo
Jesus, Crist! Superstar! Sun-Sentinel
Do bigger government buildings = better government? NYT
Sustainable Rocky: An interview with SLC's ...
A few months ago, when it was already clear that New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer would be elected governor, I wrote an article ...
Wi-fi helps criminals hide. WaPo
Can Cory Booker revive Newark? Economist
VA's unique political method for choosing judges has pros and cons. Virginian-Pilot
Cheer up, ...
Al Franken, the semi-famed comedian and radio talk show host, is set to announce on Wednesday whether he'll run for the U.S. Senate next ...
Lately I've been acting the part of the cranky libertarian, writing pieces about government overreach. So allow me to complain about an example of corporate ...
Governing and its readers love 50-state rankings that enable us to make meaningful comparisons among governments. Bucking the tradition of providing useful information, I've assembled ...
Hybrid cars too quiet for blind pedestrians. WSJ (free link)
To announce, Romney heads to his dad's political stomping ground. Globe
Pricey jet fuel: Air ...
If you think the office you work in is bad, check out this except from Dig, Boston's alternative weekly newspaper: From the time they take ...
"I Love New York" turns 30 and is up for grabs. Buffalo Business First
Does AL love steel enough to change its constitution? Times-Picayune
...
You know that giftcard you got for Christmas that's still sitting in your wallet? And there's, like, $4.38 on it, and you don't want to ...
Looming elections in Chicago = speedy snow plows. Tribune
Pittsburgh mayor launches major downtown housing push. Business Times
Here's where all the automakers' plant closings are ...
You'll never guess what's standing in the way of efforts to select the president using the popular vote: partisan politics.
Last year, a few states ...
FL Gov. Crist got set up on a date with a "hottest mom." Palm Beach Post
TN might scrap its 4-month-old Ethics ...
A drop in smoking is good for states, right? Healthier residents, lower strain on health care systems, etc.
But there's at least one way it ...
San Francisco's taxi system is somewhat famously clunky. The city keeps tight control on the number of cabs through a strict medallion-issuing system. So cabs ...
MN might tax plastic surgery. Star-Tribune
Librarians in an uproar over "scrotum." NYT
Chicago's idea to lease out airports is catching on. Philly ...
Valentine's Day has come and gone, but don't tell that to two lovers who remain in a tight embrace 365 days a year: money and politics.
...
For Governing's upcoming March issue, I wrote a little piece about how there could be some grumbling about the generosity of government employee pensions and ...
If you've followed the march of states lining up to require middle school girls to receive vaccinations for HPV, a sexually-transmitted disease that often leads ...
posted by Zach Patton
The Ohio General Assembly has taken a bold step into the late-20th century, and has now begun listing lawmakers' votes ...
MD Gov. O'Malley's anti-death penalty op-ed. WaPo
Crime, violence and traffic: Worth $91 million for Vegas? Review-Journal
Cost of a pack of cigarettes in a CA ...
Henry Jenkins, who runs MIT's comparative media studies program, says that the Internet is "the new permanent record." Any jackass behavior you allow ...
I hesitate to post this on the 13th Floor because, honestly, I don't think it's really worth reporting. I feel like this is akin ...
For all the innovations that are spinning out of NYC under Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the idea that almost no other mayors are stealing is the ...
Arrows to spike strips: NM lawmakers tackle wrong-way drivers. ABQ Trib
No more soda volcanos! Science fairs lose luster. Orlando Sentinel
MA Guv's property tax ...
Have you forgotten what Michael Dukakis looked like in a tank? Do you have a hankering to hear Richard Nixon talk about busing?
Then look ...
Classroom candy: Undoing AR Gov. Huckabee's health reforms. AR News
Hennepin Co. says acronyms will be DOA. Minneapolis Star-Tribune
The gov't is DEFINITELY spying on ...
Since when did sex offenders become so popular? Consider some developments over the past couple of weeks in state legislatures:
* On a 32-8 vote, the ...
I had a lengthy phone conversation the other day with a legislator full of complaints about press coverage of a bill he had sponsored. What ...
For a while, it looked like Tom Vilsack was going to be the only governor or ex-governor in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes, so those of ...
Chicago aldermen want to avoid a JetBlue fiaso at O'Hare. Sun-Times
Holy #$*%! Anti-porn czar tackles obscenity. SL Tribune
Estonia to vote for president on the ...
posted by Ellen Perlman
All politics may be local, but often it's personal too.
If someday West Virginians can understand their medical bills, it could ...
If you're following gubernatorial politics at all this year, you know that Ernie Fletcher is in trouble. We'll have an item about this in the ...
Govs press Bush on Iraq, get not much in return. Billings Gazette
NY state employee fired over a tip to the local news? News10 Albany
...
Turns out that Steve Stanton, the city manager for Largo, FL, will NOT be one of the first public officials anywhere to undergo gender-reassignment surgery ...
As the U.S. Senate begins debate today on measures to modify the REAL ID Act, which mandates standardized identification nationwide, what action Congress' upper ...
Despite a lingering federal investigation into hiring and contracting fraud at city hall, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley won reelection yesterday with 71 percent of the ...
Oakland mayor wants to give convicts jobs. Oakland Tribune
Mall of America wants $234 million subsidy package. Star-Tribune
Arkansas' or Arkansas's? There oughta be a law! ...
A few years ago, when my son was 12, he had to have a root canal. I like to believe it's because he didn't brush his ...
A columnist with AsianWeek in San Francisco was fired after publishing a column entitled "Why I Hate Blacks."
Naturally, the paper has taken ...
National Law Enforcement Museum to be built in DC. DCist
TN bill would require drug tests for welfare recipients. AP
Drunk-driving that kills: Is it &...
From 13th Floor reader William comes this groan-inducing bit of legislation introduced in the Minnesota House in January.
It establishes a poet laureate for the ...
Fred Risser, president of the Wisconsin Senate, has served for 50 years -- longer than any other state legislator in the country.
You can learn about ...
This weekend, I went up to our cabin just outside Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, in part to make sure the water pipes hadn't burst during ...
Sex scandal cover-up in Missouri? KC Star
Great idea! Postal service fixes long waits by removing clocks. AP
Toll transponder inaccuracy is widespread. theNewspaper
States ...
Well, not quite everyone. A recent report from the Federal Communications Commission shows that as of July 2006 there were 215.1 million cell phone subscribers in the 50 ...
CA highway patrol's suicide rate is 7.5 times the U.S. average. Sac Bee
Using MySpace to fight gang violence. San Diego Union-Tribune
Will NH bingo ...
There's no end to revolving door stories. This Houston Chronicle piece offers a good look at how prevalent the practice has become in Texas -- 70 ...
MA guv made a call on behalf of his former company. Boston Globe
Polar bears endangered? Alaska's not so sure. AP
"Rocky Mountain High&...
Our parent company, the St. Petersburg Times, commissioned a survey of residents in Largo, Florida, and the surrounding county to find out what people thought ...
Remember the "Massachusetts miracle"? The state continues to be a New Economy winner -- or rather, the Greater Boston area does. Much of ...
Gavin Newsom has finally found a place to put the homeless. The San Francisco mayor wants his local bus system to offer free rides to ...
I wrote a feature for the March issue of Governing that focused on one of the big reasons that the trains are unpopular for city-to-city ...
Counties criminally liable for posting Soc. Sec. numbers? ComputerWorld
SLC's policy protecting gays and minorities is now law. SL Tribune
A Big Dig for Philly? ...
Jerry Seinfeld got some laughs at the Oscars a couple weeks ago in giving out "best documentary" and announcing "the five extremely ...
It's ingenious. Pennsylvania uses marketing moxie to make money from items people must surrender at airports, according to a local story. For the past three ...
This Sunday night it's going to be nice and light an hour later than usual, thanks to the Daylight Savings Saving [Ed. note: Thanks, Scott!] ...
We hear a lot about government services that underperform and occasionally about a state or local program that's a stroke of genius. I'd like to ...
Three female students at a Westchester County, New York, high school have been suspended. Their offense? They said the word "vagina" at a ...
Ritter vs. Ritter: The contradictions of CO's governor. Denver Post
Special green license plates for OH sex offenders? NYT
"Super Mario vs. the Pieman.&...
Lately, I've been thinking about "nanny state" issues. Sometimes governments require citizens to do common-sense things, but at what point do such laws ...
Earlier this week, I mentioned California's high-speed rail project, which would connect the Northern and Southern parts of the state with a 220-MPH bullet train. ...
Springfields vie for "Simpsons" movie premiere. WaPo
More states dropping motorcycle helmet laws. NPR
CDC report: AIDS hits black men the hardest. Reuters
...
The other day, I was faced with a perplexing question: What do you call someone from New Jersey?
"A genius," my colleague Chris, ...
We've seen the trend toward strong mayoral control in many large cities in recent years, with Richmond, San Diego, Oakland and many others taking big ...
How much for a brain? SC weighs early release for organ-donor felons. LA Times
Suit urges MA to overhaul prisons. Boston Globe
Thanks for that ...
Just for the record, if anyone hears me say, "I'd give my right arm" for something, I'm speaking figuratively.
But prison inmates in ...
The ACLU won't often get caught up defending the Bush administration's right to regulate, but that is the situation developing in the federal case regarding ...
The relationship between budget shortfalls and speeding tickets is becoming infinitely more complex in Michigan.
More state troopers will soon likely be parked on the ...
Nobody blows up a building like Vegas. Review-Journal video
Related: Vegas casino implosions through the years. Vegas.com
Ex-NJ Gov. McGreevey wants full custody of ...
Obama is one, of course. So is Clinton -- actually, both Bill and Hillary are. Even Junichiro Koizumi is one.
I refer, of course, to ...
Yesterday, one of my colleagues here on the 13th Floor was telling me about the decent wine he could get for less than $4 a bottle ...
CO's new state song: Not that kind of "high." NYT
The bolo tie is now the official tie of NM. Santa Fe New ...
I was hunting around for examples of dumb laws -- never mind why -- and found one that was just repealed.
For decades, Pekin, Illinois, ...
The Bay Area is a rich source of stories today concerning federalism.
First, there is what appears to be the final chapter in the federal ...
More states offer preschool. AP
Are libraries necessary? WSJ (free link)
Cool tag cloud for OH State of the State. Cincy Enquirer's Footnotes blog
Is ...
Talk about rebranding. King County, Washington was originally named in 1852 after Vice President William Rufus de Vane King, a plantation slave owner from Alabama. Later, ...
Here's the final part of my assessment of the nation's new governors' political success.
Nevada's Jim Gibbons (Rep): Gibbons started out by facing claims of ...
In the legislative Man Bites Dog story of the day, Colorado state legislators are examining bills that would make it harder for voters to change ...
Cocoa Beach's "emergency measure": No sofas on the beach! FL Today
Death penalty stays on the books in MD. Balto Sun
NH bill ...
John Chichester, a 29-year veteran of the Virginia Senate and a 2004 Governing "Public Official of the Year," has announced his retirement. He gets ...
Take that, science! NM lawmakers say Pluto's still a planet. AP
Ray Nagin: Change in NOLA's racial makeup is "a plot." Times-Picayune
Global ...
A college-bound family friend recently solicited my advice in the great roommate debate. I advised her to take her chances and room with a stranger ...
Rich Smith, a British journalism student, spent one Christmas day playing board games. He came across reference to an obscure law in Florida that made ...
Angelina Jolie, the world's most famous adopter, soon might not be welcome in Arkansas orphanages.
A bill, which passed the state Senate last week, forbids ...
Hawaii state style guide: Don't call that thing a "tiki"!! Honolulu Advertiser
OR House members introduce package of Gen X legislation. Oregonian
NJ ...
Chicago hosts an egg hunt -- designed to kill!!! Tribune
Hickenlooper meets opponent, gets a lapful of beer. Rocky Mountain News
Missing word sends a ...
By now it's become a tired cliche that independent voices, granted new power and tools by technology, have up-ended traditional public discourse, challenging both media ...
I recently received a publication from the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas that raises an interesting question: At what volume (if any) do requests ...
Michigan could soon become the 36th state to enact "super drunk and drive" legislation. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is working with the legislature ...
Here's a legislative example of the phenomenon I described the other day with the anti-Hillary YouTube video.
Two videos have been posted on YouTube deriding ...
KC mayor jumps into tax-breaks fray. KC Star
Buying spray paint in Minneapolis? Let's see your ID. Star-Tribune
CA Transportation Dept. hid $13 mil of contracts ...
Retirees are lovin' the Wii. Reuters
A lobbyist, at age 8. Boston Globe
Ethanol backlash brewing in Midwest. WSJ (subs req'd)
Tinseltown backlash: Idaho dumps new ...
The state of Alaska is going to waste $1.2 million on April 3 to hold a referendum asking voters their opinion on domestic partner benefits for public ...
When it comes to the federal Real ID Act -- which calls for national standards for identification cards such as drivers licenses -- there are ...
Here's an interesting story in the Christian Science Montitor about the politics of state employee pension funds -- and where they're being invested.
This first ...
MD school backs peppermint for students' alertness. NPR
DE fights to save its only regular airline service. Wilmington News Journal
At the Big Dig, what's ...
NJ mayor's political foe goes a little "Single White Female." Newark Star-Ledger
States put a dimmer on teen tanning. Stateline
How to spend $43 ...
Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker is up in arms over some billboards currently scattered throughout his city's downtown. He says that six signs, paid for ...
NOLA's Nagin wants commish ousted for "bitch" comment. Times-Picayune
Seattle's library 3 years later: Not holding up. Post-Intelligencer
Menino's city hall vision: "technology ...
Sans earring and credit card debt, Detroit's mayor grows into his job. News
Kansas City: a new mayor, a new slogan? You decide. KC Star
...
The most intriguing election of 2007, the Nevada governor's race, is intriguing for the very reason you've probably heard nothing about it: It isn't scheduled and ...
There have been a lot of prominent public officials prosecuted in recent years. Here on the 13th Floor, we often have internal debates about whether ...
Sorry to be a homer, but I have to point out this welcome news for Washingtonians. The head of Metro, our transit system, has announced ...
Boise man declares mayor candidacy on MySpace. Idaho Statesman
On Google maps of NOLA, everything's back to normal after Katrina. AP
NV gov. has ties ...
Today, Alaska Superior Court Judge Bill Morse will preside over an injunction hearing that should be an unintentional comedy goldmine -- if rather darkly-humored gold.
...
In this day and age, it's kind of amazing how quickly a public figure can fall from grace -- and how it's so often caused ...
MA Gov: Put out-of-state gay marriages on the books. Boston Globe
"Commerce City" on the ballot in CO. Denver Post
No booze on ...
Hybrid cars are hot right now, but the idea of a true plug-in hybrid -- one whose owner would literally plug it into an electrical ...
TX lawmakers might legalize Texas Hold 'Em. Houston Chronicle
In TN, a tax break for the elderly, but how? AP
FL gov. wants to restore ...
It's Omaha, Nebraska. No, Omaha hasn't supplanted New York City as the world's financial center, nor displaced Washington, D.C., as our capital.
But NYC ...
This video has been making the rounds online, and it's really interesting. It's from SpeculativeBubble.com, a blog that originally tracked the dotcom boom but ...
OR Senate approves bikes without brakes. Oregonian
Filling potholes is for chumps: Mayors need some bling! KC Star
Does TN's fiscal future include a porn ...
All the attention Andrew Cuomo, New York's new attorney general is receiving (for example from our own Alan Greenblatt, see the third item here) got ...
MO House skirts usual rules to honor Secret Santa. KC Star
New Orleans councilwoman clocked at over 100 mph. Times-Picayune
East Hartford police bust pot-stuffed Easter ...
I've got Knight Rider on the brain. Really, I can't stop thinking about it. I didn't even watch the show much growing up. And I ...
"This victory was a great victory for those of us who care about the biggest environmental and economic issue of the 21st century."
...
The real O.C.? Not so exciting. LA Times
What happens when reporters become state reps? Cleveland Plain Dealer blog
Lawmaker wants to require ID ...
Kansas legislators wonder if they cut a little too deep. Actually, only the state senators feel that way about the tax cuts the legislature passed ...
Wyomingites "disappointed" by amatuerish Easter egg. AP
OR Gov and his wife will spend a week on food stamps. Oregonian
DNA proof of ...
I've been working on a profile of Rick Jore, who chairs the Montana House's education committee despite being the only representative in the state from ...
Legend has it that Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin survived four gunshot wounds, a severe beating and enough cyanide to kill ten people. He's got nothing ...
In response to my post about Montana House Education Chairman Rick Jore, Kurtis writes in to comment that Jore has won praise for being upfront, ...
Pimp my Governator! San Jose Mercury News
Gibbons: Dems paid Wall Street Journal to publish stories about me. Review-Journal
Edited-movie market rebounds despite court ban. ...
I have an iPod. I use it every day. It offers me a much greater choice of music and downloaded radio shows (aka podcasts) to ...
Last fall, I appeared at a conference hosted by the American Enterprise Institute about financing higher education. I spoke about campus financial aid offices and ...
"Party fund" stripped from agency's budget. Bismarck Tribune
Office rents up, occupancy down, in downtown NOLA. Times-Picayune
Do bank robbers think twice if ...
Fred Thompson, the actor and former U.S. senator, has announced he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although his prognosis is good -- he says the cancer ...
I learned something important from Rudy Giuliani's inability to name the price of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread: Reporters ask really ...
The fast, high-rolling -- and illegal -- life of a state auditor. Times-Union
Whoissick.org -- Google Maps for germaphobes. Gridskipper
Vilsack joins Mondale's law ...
Sometimes a statistic is worth a thousand words.
Case in point: New York City gave away 5 million condoms in the first month after introducing the ...
China gets a town where the women make all the rules. Ananova
Wireless sensors to watch pollution, traffic, weather. MIT Tech Review
Boise's so clean, ...
Here's the part I don't understand about Washington State's new law, or any other state's law, that prohibits driving while holding a cell phone to ...
How farmers can stop global warming. Bismarck Tribune
Adaptable coyotes thriving in cities & suburbs. WaPo
New team clashes at beleaguered Texas Youth Commission. Dallas ...
About a year ago, I was working on a short feature about how cities are trying to promote their local scenes. Fritz Junker, the head ...
Alaskan salmonberry wine might be the tastiest stuff on earth, but the world would never know.
Alaska's anti-Alaskan wine laws have kept the sweet sauce ...
After days of stories detailing New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's recovery from a severe car accident, The New York Times weighed in Sunday with the ...
After VA Tech massacre, TX House postpones debate on closing records for concealed handgun licenses. Texas Politics
ATVs replacing horses on the range. LA Times
...
Colleges everywhere are examining new security measures and ways to alert students of danger. Here's a sampling of some stories. Times-Picayune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, San ...
How the time flies. The latest crop of new governors and mayors are finishing their first 100 days in office. Is the honeymoon over? Or are ...
I recently wrote a story for Governing on the rise of drug-resistant diseases, which will be published in the May issue. It's starting to be ...
Crisis-prep refresher: Vincent T. Covello's 77 questions journalists ask during a crisis.
Why governors drive dangerously fast. NYT
Joel Kotkin says baby boomers will retire in ...
Baby boomers are less fit than their parents. WaPo
Corzine's well-wishers mix sympathy with resentment. NYT
WSJ calls FL Gov. Crist's home insurance plan "...
New Mexico's new tourism campaign -- "The Best Place in the Universe" -- shows that the state has a pretty healthy ego (unlike ...
Stateline.org reports that the Virginia Tech shootings have already inspired legislation, with a Louisiana state representative dropping a bill that would make it clear ...
From Joe Six-Packs to a nine-term U.S. senator, everyone is worried about tainted pet food. Reaction to the recall from governors has been surprisingly ...
