Archive
Demographic trends suggest trouble ahead for government revenues.
Project delays are a huge problem. “Sourcing teams” could be one solution.
A Broward County circuit judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, face-palming, tongue-lashing to a frail, out-of-breath woman -- pushed into court in a wheelchair -- who was facing misdemeanor charges following a family feud.
Dania Cervantes Ayala is the kind of nurse you want when you receive a life-changing diagnosis. It’s not a task for her, it feels personal. She cares for patients at her part-time job at the Nebraska Medicine’s Buffett Cancer Center with both sharp knowledge and deep compassion — traits of a skilled third-year nursing student at the College of Saint Mary who will soon take the state’s nursing license exams and move on to a doctorate of nursing program.
Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown on Sunday brushed aside a long-running corruption investigation into her office and announced she would run for mayor next year to create a "transformative, transparent and inclusive government."
Nashville Mayor David Briley called for comprehensive gun reform Sunday, declaring "enough is enough" in the wake of a mass shooting at a Waffle House in Antioch — one he likened to an act of terrorism — that left four dead and two others wounded.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday extended the hotel stays of 1,700 families who evacuated Puerto Rico and relocated to mainland U.S. states after Hurricane Maria. They were due to lose their temporary housing aid Saturday.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who has been in a public court fight against a felony invasion of privacy charge for nearly two months, now faces a new felony charge: that he misused a charity donor list to solicit campaign cash for his 2016 run for governor.
The anxiety and seething anger that followed the disappearance of middle-income jobs in factory towns has helped reshape the American political map and topple longstanding policies on tariffs and immigration.
Former Maryland governor Parris N. Glendening on Thursday endorsed Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III in his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, citing Baker’s record on the environment.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza must determine who the cash-strapped state pays and who has to wait. A long-running feud with Gov. Bruce Rauner -- she calls him "a madman running this state into the ground" -- makes things decidedly more difficult.
Since the UN got involved, the city has taken steps to make utility bills more affordable. But 17,000 customers still could lose their service next month.
Cities that give away the most money in tax incentives tend to be those with greater levels of income inequality.
Major league teams used to get everything they wanted from sports-mad cities. Now they have to fight for it -- and increasingly, they’re losing.
Fayetteville, N.C., earned the top honors in the annual Equipt to Innovate report, a joint study from Governing and the nonprofit Living Cities.
Governments are just starting to confront the issue.
Some towns have tried to force certain big-box retailers to pay higher wages.
As states debate the purpose of public universities, some say politics is playing an outsized role.
Ambulances are expensive. Some cities are beginning to offer other ways to get to the hospital.
Recent election cycles have seen more than 40 percent of state legislative seats left uncontested. Not this year.
Our toughest problems can’t be solved unless we learn to work together.
They are despised by drivers and many lawmakers.
Bar-hopping party bikes, which let a dozen or more people pedal through popular destinations, don’t fit neatly under traffic laws.
Differences in wage laws and costs of living explain why they're more common in some places than others.
A felony invasion-of-privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will go on despite his attorneys' attempt to have it thrown out, a St. Louis judge ruled Thursday.
A somber and introspective Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, under heavy criticism for the arrests of two 23-year-old Philadelphia men at a Starbucks near Rittenhouse Square a week ago and his defense of the police action, apologized to the men Thursday and said he had made the situation worse.
The agency that runs the $4 billion Central Arizona Project is being accused of manipulating Colorado River reservoirs' operations to suck out more water for its Tucson, Phoenix and Pinal County customers.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel called on President Donald Trump's Justice Department Thursday to hand over grant money to Chicago, after a panel of federal judges said the funds can't be withheld from so-called sanctuary cities.
A Downstate Republican lawmaker launched a third-party bid for governor on Thursday, exacerbating the challenges facing Gov. Bruce Rauner's re-election as he seeks to heal divisions within his party's base to take on Democrat J.B. Pritzker.
Alabama on Thursday night executed 83-year-old Walter Leroy Moody for the 1989 pipe bombing death of a federal judge. He became the oldest inmate executed in the United States since the return of executions in the 1970s.
In an angry tweet that appeared to contradict his Homeland Security chief, President Trump said Thursday that the federal government will refuse to pay California National Guard troops if they won't keep illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border.
Hundreds of displaced Puerto Rican families living in Florida hotels since Hurricane Maria devastated the island could be left homeless by the end of the week, federal lawmakers said Wednesday as they pleaded with FEMA to extend its temporary shelter program.
Vermont's newest candidate for governor is a high school teacher who says he wants to build "middle ground" in an era of political polarization.
Arizona educators and school employees fueling the teacher-led #RedForEd movement have voted in support of a walkout — an unprecedented action aimed at pressuring state leaders to act on their demands for more education funding.
Some places are losing more lawyers and accountants than factory workers.
In some states, the minimal requirements are leading to inaccurate reports of homicides and suicides.
In just one year, Rhode Island reduced the overdose death rate among former prisoners by 61 percent.
As out-of-staters flock to New Hampshire to stock up on alcohol, its neighboring states think so.
The new modern worker values happiness and career development when considering their job or career choice.
Two economists argue that they aren't. Instead, they say, policymakers should focus on larger employers.
Law enforcement departments across the country use the marijuana holiday as a way to build their followers and soften their image on social media.
Despite some close calls, the Utah Legislature on Wednesday overrode vetoes by Gov. Gary Herbert that grew out of a yearlong turf war where part-time lawmakers contend the full-time governor is seizing too much of their power.
The city of Boulder, Boulder County and San Miguel County today announced they have sued ExxonMobil and Suncor for their "reckless actions and damages" in helping cause global climate change.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is urging state lawmakers to quickly close a loophole in state law that could prevent him from bringing charges against anyone pardoned by President Trump.
The Second Amendment protects civilians possessing stun guns and tasers, the highest court in Massachusetts said Tuesday.
Pittsburgh police have no idea if President Trump plans to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, but they want to be prepared in case he does.
A federal judge on Wednesday found Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt of court in a case involving Kansas voting laws, her latest rebuke of the Republican candidate for governor.
Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday signed an executive order granting parolees the right to vote in New York.
Charlotte City Council Member LaWana Mayfield's Facebook post Monday questioning whether the 9/11 attacks were an act of terrorism has sparked a national backlash and a petition for her to resign.
Memphis' controversial takedown of its Confederate monuments, arming teachers and development incentives were among a handful of topics addressed in the first Republican Tennessee gubernatorial debate Wednesday in Memphis.
Some health officials say nothing. Members of Congress, meanwhile, are taking matters of money for the drug crisis into their own hands.
The state's highest court ruled Tuesday that a ballot-box law that moves Maine's primary elections to a ranked-choice voting system should stand for the pending primary elections in June.
The public school in Campo, Colorado, hasn’t required all its students to come to class on Fridays for nearly two decades. The 44-student district dropped a weekday to boost attendance and better attract teachers to a town so deep in farm country that the nearest grocery store is more than 20 miles away.
Gov. Scott Walker stated unequivocally Monday he won't take a job in the White House this term or if he's re-elected in November.
As a child, Y. says she was beaten by her father with ropes and cables in Honduras.
Following an inquiry from the Ohio Ethics Commission, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Dennis Kucinich has disclosed he was paid $20,000 for giving a speech last year to a group sympathetic to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to support the Trump administration's lawsuit against California over laws that the state passed last year to limit its role in immigration enforcement.
A San Francisco state senator's bill to limit cities' ability to block large apartment and condominium construction in residential neighborhoods near public transit lost a key legislative vote Tuesday, killing it for this year.
Leaders in Missouri's GOP-controlled House issued a stinging rebuke of Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Tuesday evening, calling on the state's chief executive to resign as scandals continue to consume his administration.
Ruling in a Bay Area case, the Supreme Court, with a crucial vote from Justice Neil Gorsuch, struck down a federal immigration law Tuesday that required deportation for any noncitizen convicted of a felony that posed a "substantial risk" of violence.
Dirty needles left behind by drug users have become so prevalent in parks that some public health agencies are leaning on citizens to clean them up.
The justices pressed attorneys on Tuesday about the potential consequences of overturning the court’s 26-year-old ruling.
Gov. Jerry Brown sought to tamp down any conflict with the Trump administration over sending California National Guard troops to the Mexican border, even as he dismissed a taunting tweet from the president and described heightened concerns about illegal immigration as the province of "very low-life politicians."
The most recent states to adopt the practice are expanding it to agencies that serve disenfranchised populations, including the poor and disabled.
In the wake of Stephon Clark's death, California is considering the strictest rules in the country about when deadly force can be used. But they may not impact criminal cases against cops.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said Tuesday that his office had uncovered evidence that Gov. Eric Greitens may have committed a felony after using a charity donor list to solicit donations to fuel his 2016 campaign for governor.
By applying a strategic lens to the procurement process, local governments can transform how they partner with the private sector.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a new trial for former state Rep. Peter Beck of Mason who served 16 months in prison after being convicted in 2015 on charges of defrauding investors in a computer software company.
The price of medical marijuana could fall dramatically for some patients by mid-summer. And the drug will soon be used to treat opioid withdrawal in Pennsylvania, which will become the second state after New Jersey to allow it for that purpose.
Less than eight months after Hurricane Harvey pelted the Texas Gulf Coast with torrential rainfall, drought has returned to Texas and other parts of the West, Southwest and Southeast, rekindling old worries for residents who dealt with earlier waves of dry spells and once again forcing state governments to reckon with how to keep the water flowing.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a Maryland law passed last year to stop sharp increases in the price of generic medicines is unconstitutional, a setback to new efforts by states to keep down the cost of drugs.
Sacramento police Monday released 52 videos and one audio file of the Stephon Clark shooting, showing multiple instances of officers muting their body-worn microphones and raising questions about the length of time it took law enforcement to render medical aid.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Monday that violence, while unfortunate, is to be expected sometimes in prisons, where violent people are locked up.
Chanting “You left me no choice, I have to use my teacher voice!” hundreds of Colorado teachers converged on the state Capitol on Monday to demand changes in school funding and to lobby for higher teacher pay and a stronger retirement fund.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appeal, marking the end of a decadelong legal road and virtually guaranteeing he will remain in prison until 2024 barring a presidential pardon or commutation.
Tips from a cybersecurity expert.
The Supreme Court required prosecutors to do this decades ago, but they don't always follow the rules. New York is the latest state to strengthen them.
One of the quietest places in this noisy city is in the middle of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the largest art museums in the world, with 7 million visitors a year.
On Thursday morning, Gary Berreth stepped outside of his house in the Green Meadows neighborhood and found an unexpected letter attached to his front door.
Philly cops had a bad weekend.
An unexpected labor uprising has gripped some conservative states over the past two months as public school teachers have staged protests and strikes over low pay and strained education budgets.
Failed efforts to reform the federal criminal justice system are getting a second look in Washington _ after the White House saw how much money Texas and other states saved overhauling prisons.
The term that now binds the right of American politics is not designed to win people over as much as harden true believers against a common enemy: the "swamp of Washington," the political elites of Jefferson City or the "deep state" of government bureaucrats and "liberal media" that Hannity attacks nightly.
Gov. Matt Bevin apologized Sunday for saying that teacher protests probably led to the sexual assault of children.
At least six emergency agencies responded to a "mass casualty incident" that lasted more than seven hours and left seven inmates dead at a South Carolina prison late Sunday.
A nearly decade-long effort to consolidate vehicle services and improve operations has saved hundreds of millions of dollars.
Should there be three Californias instead of just one? You may soon have a chance to decide.
Facebook said Wednesday that it would no longer oppose a proposed state ballot initiative that aims to allow Web users to stop tech giants from selling personal information the companies collect about them, among other privacy protections.
A state appeals court has struck down a San Francisco ordinance that requires landlords who evict their tenants and go out of the rental business under the state's Ellis Act to wait 10 years before rebuilding or renovating any of the formerly rented units.
Under pressure from his temporary successor, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger is resigning immediately from the legislature instead of at the end of the month as initially planned, according to House GOP spokesman Brad Miller.
Power was gradually returning to Puerto Rico Thursday night after the US commonwealth was hit with a massive outage -- nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and its electrical grid.
The U.S. Department of Justice cannot favor police departments that are willing to cooperate with immigration agents when it doles out tens of millions of dollars in funding each year, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled this week.
A state legislator who once flew to Damascus for a two-hour sit-down with Bashar al-Assad took to the floor of the Virginia Senate this week to say the Syrian president might have been framed with a suspected chemical attack — if the attack happened at all.
President Trump took aim at federal air quality standards Thursday, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to relax restrictions on state governments and businesses that have been key to cutting smog.
Oklahoma's largest teachers union has called for an end to a statewide walkout, 11 days after it began.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that he was "deeply troubled" by an investigation into extramarital sexual encounters Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens had with a hairstylist, saying he agreed with calls for his fellow Republican to step down.
Photos and musings from our photographer David Kidd.
The legislation released on Thursday includes changes that could satisfy conservatives and liberals. It does not include most of the changes President Trump proposed, such as drug testing and a Blue Apron-style delivery service.
Up until now, high-tax states have complained the most.
The new rules are designed to reduce premiums, but health policy experts say they will have little effect.
Courts throughout the nation are considering President Trump's efforts to compel unwilling cities and states to help carry out his hard-line immigration policies. But his most far-reaching decree, a January 2017 order to cut off federal funds to San Francisco and other sanctuary cities, received an apparently chilly reception from a federal appeals court Wednesday.
A Pennsylvania school district made headlines last month when it said it was arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks as a last resort to fight off shooters.
A growing number of Missouri lawmakers are calling on Gov. Eric Greitens to step down over "horrendous" and "disgraceful" allegations of abuse detailed in an investigative report released Wednesday.
California Gov. Jerry Brown agreed Wednesday to take money, but not marching orders, from President Donald Trump in deploying 400 National Guard troops to various locations around the state, insisting that any service members near the border would not enforce federal immigration law.
Tuesday night's debate among the four Democratic Party candidates for Ohio governor may have been informative and policy-driven, but none of the candidates gained a clear advantage at the end of the night.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday signed new limits on welfare programs into law, committing state and federal taxpayers to nearly $80 million in spending to draw more people into the labor force.
This week, lawmakers from the Northeast to the Deep South have been debating and voting on gun control legislation, with mixed results. Here's a snapshot of what has been happening with these measures in recent days.
Under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the company wants to partner with cities and be more than just a rideshare.
Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency Tuesday, ordering the Mississippi Department of Transportation to ensure the immediate closure of 83 locally owned bridges across the state.
Facing an FBI investigation into his overseas travel and a nasty leadership fight to succeed him that is ripping at his caucus, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger said Tuesday he is resigning from office.
With a controversial pension reform bill now signed into law and Gov. Matt Bevin's veto of bills covering the state budget and tax overhaul, public educators are again gearing up to make their voices heard in the state Capitol.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 17 bills into law Tuesday, including controversial legislation to impose financial sanctions against local governments that fail to cooperate with federal officials in enforcing immigration laws in Iowa.
The mayor of North Miami Beach on Tuesday agreed to resign from office and accept house arrest as part of a plea deal for violating state-campaign finance laws.
Broward School Board members took a stand against arming school employees Tuesday, while facing harsh public criticism about how well the district protects and cares for its students.
When Gavin Newsom campaigns on his support for a California single-payer healthcare system, he's talking about more than the virtues of universal care. He's trying to sell himself as a bold visionary.
Trump signed an executive order Monday directing federal agencies to promote employment for those on public assistance.
The Sacramento Police Department has ordered officers to keep their body cameras and microphones on after community members criticized the muting of footage minutes after the Stephon Clark shooting, according to a department email obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, has joined her GOP counterparts from two other states in supporting the Trump administration’s controversial plans to reinstate a question about citizenship on the 2020 census.
While they're rarely successful, efforts to remove state Supreme Court justices over policy disagreements are becoming more common.
The two top Republicans in Massachusetts aren't planning on spending any time with Mike Pence while the vice president swings through the Bay State for a Republican National Committee fundraiser.
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin vetoed the legislature's proposed two-year state budget and a tax bill that generates hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund it.
Oregon will join a wave of states backing net neutrality Monday, with Gov. Kate Brown set to sign a bill designed to give companies an economic incentive to allow unfettered online access.
California on Monday jumped into the middle of a legal dispute over the future of the federal Affordable Care Act, seeking to preserve the law that is under assault in the courts by 20 other states.
The Trump administration on Monday released new regulations aimed at giving states more flexibility to offer cheaper plans on Obamacare’s exchanges next year.
Beleaguered NYCHA chairwoman Shola Olatoye, accused of making misleading statements about the conditions in public housing and under fire from multiple critics, will announce Tuesday that she is resigning.
Aileen Rizo was sitting at a lunch table with other math consultants in 2012 when she learned that her employer had just hired a man with less experience and education at a higher salary.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, D, vetoed a bill Monday that would have prohibited the establishment of sanctuary cities, an issue that dominated his race for governor last year.
Arizona colleges can't give in-state tuition to young immigrants covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday.
Gov. Phil Murphy wants you to have better access to info about New Jersey's gun violence -- including where the firearms used in those crimes come from.
Vandals who ransacked a state office in Sacramento in February stole 12 government computers and briefly had access to the personal health records of 582,000 people, the state Department of Developmental Services disclosed on Friday.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott took firm aim at Washington and "career politicians" as he officially declared himself a candidate for U.S. Senate during a campaign rally in Orlando on Monday.
Accelerating digital disruption requires new approaches to governance and leadership.
Political novices are running for office at all levels of government -- many driven by anger over their current representatives' policies and behavior.
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis has signed an order to send up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border but barred them from interacting with migrants detained by the Border Patrol in most circumstances.
The North Dakota secretary of state will not run seek re-election after his party endorsed another, setting the stage to end his 25-year career and opening up the race for a new state elections head.
Republicans may have handed many Americans a big cut in federal taxes, but their plan is triggering a wave of state income tax increases across the country.
Gov. Matt Bevin vetoed a bill Thursday that would provide pension relief to local governments in Kentucky and allow certain groups to stop participating in state-operated pension systems.
Maryland will join 10 other states and D.C. in automatically putting residents on the voting rolls when they get a driver's license, use a social services agency or buy insurance on the health exchange.
Anchorage voters have rejected an initiative that would have regulated access to restrooms and locker rooms by a person's sex at birth instead of gender identity, a local version of what's known nationally as a "bathroom bill" that sparked massive spending by an opposition campaign.
The state announced Friday that the health of Flint's drinking water has been restored and state distribution of free bottled water in the city is ending, likely within a few days.
The marble floors of the Oklahoma state Capitol pulsated as a mass of teachers clamored for lawmakers to find more money for public schools.
The farm bill expected to be unveiled this week offers Republicans a rare opportunity to reshape one of the largest federal anti-poverty programs.
More lower-income households have access to cars now than they did before the Great Recession. That’s good news for their access to jobs, but it may cause cities to rethink their assumptions about transportation.
Miami is taking the trend of teacher housing one step further than other places. But do teachers want to live where they work -- even if it means cheaper rent?
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday it would stay away for now from lingering litigation over a now-closed investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign, leaving a Brown County judge to sort out the legal fight.
A new Ohio law expands civil protection orders to dating partners, bringing Ohio in line with every other state except Georgia.
Maryland lawmakers approved $6.5 billion in tax incentives for Amazon on Wednesday, pushing through the largest economic development package in state history on the hope the internet retail giant will build a new headquarters here.
