Archive
Local governments and health care groups sued the Trump administration on Thursday for cutting short a grant program designed to prevent teen pregnancies through 2020.
Bike sharing may be the ultimate symbol of gentrification, the province of avocado-toast loving, espresso-swilling — and mostly white — millennials.
It's unusual for an incumbent in the California Legislature to draw a challenger from his or her own party. But last week, backed by two Assembly members in nearby districts, Democrat Vicky Santana announced her campaign for the southeast Los Angeles County Senate seat held by Sen. Tony Mendoza.
State regulators of the oil and gas industry on Tuesday set tougher rules and launched a task force after six months of grappling over how to protect people and the environment from myriad underground pipelines, which regularly leak and explode, as fossil fuels extraction expands around Front Range cities.
States are exploring tax changes in response to the federal overhaul. The proposals in Iowa and New York this week may just be the tip of the iceberg.
A state appeals court upheld a San Francisco ordinance Wednesday that protects teachers, other school staff and child care center employees from evictions during the school year, reversing a judge's ruling that struck down the law.
An appeals court Wednesday upheld most of a federal district judge's historic ruling that changed Harris County's bail practices, agreeing the previous bail system was unconstitutional and unfair to low-level indigent defendants.
On the day of Arizona’s 2016 presidential primary, the line outside the Maryvale Church of the Nazarene, the Maricopa County polling place for 213,000 mostly Latino, low-income people, extended through the parking lot, down busy North 51st Avenue, and into a neighborhood lined with palm and eucalyptus trees on the western edge of Phoenix.
Amanda Renteria, a top aide to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, is stepping down from her post at the California attorney general's office to run for governor, according to Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra.
It’s barely been two weeks since Idaho regulators said they would allow the sale of health insurance that does not meet all of the Affordable Care Act’s requirements — a controversial step some experts said would likely draw legal scrutiny and, potentially, federal fines for any insurer that jumped in.
Two states are scrutinizing Aetna's processes for approving or denying payment for medical care after a former Aetna medical director admitted he never reviewed patient medical records when deciding whether to authorize treatment.
When a gunman attacked a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, killing 17 people, the event marked a depressingly familiar milestone.
Richard Cordray's quest for the Democratic nomination for governor continued to gather momentum Wednesday, with former state Rep. Connie Pillich leaving the race as expected and throwing her support to her former rival.
Gov. Larry Hogan signed legislation Tuesday that would allow rape victims to terminate the parental rights of their assailants -- a proposal that took more than a decade to make it through the Maryland General Assembly.
Federal intelligence officials warned Congress on Tuesday that Russia will again attempt to influence the elections through cyber-warfare. New reports shed light on the inadequacy of state and local security systems.
The president, who often stresses the need for states to have more flexibility, wants to give them less when it comes to food stamps.
Most dockless bike-share companies want to work closely with cities. In Florida, Ofo has bigger plans that involve the state.
Gov. Jeff Colyer has named a businessman from outside of Topeka politics as his lieutenant governor and running mate.
Anti-hunger groups and retailers are lining up to blast President Donald Trump's proposed overhaul of the federal food stamp program, which would convert electronic food benefits for millions into boxes of packaged food.
A Brooklyn federal judge is blocking the Trump Administration from pulling back the Dreamers immigration program, saying the government did not provide adequate explanations for the abrupt about-face.
Cannabis users and providers in Berkeley got an added layer of protection on Tuesday as the city declared itself a sanctuary city for marijuana, likely the first of its kind.
A new study suggests that policies meant to keep rents down actually jack them up overall, reduce the rental stock and fuel gentrification.
To attract and retain employees in a competitive market, they're focusing on succession planning and leadership development.
We need to analyze what puts disadvantaged communities at risk and engage marginalized people in disaster planning.
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, attorneys general from every U.S. state and territory signed a letter asking Congress to stop employers from forcing sexual harassment claims to be resolved out of court.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf this morning rejected a congressional map that was offered as a replacement to a 2011 map declared illegal by the state Supreme Court for giving unfair advantage to Republicans at the polls.
A federal district court judge has ruled that Montana’s ban on political robocalls is constitutional, although the lack of enforcement since the ban was approved in 1991 has meant Montanans still receive many of the calls each election cycle.
It was a well-intentioned effort to provide men with some of the same financial protection from birth control costs that women get. But a new Maryland law may jeopardize the ability of thousands of consumers — both men and women — to use health savings accounts.
Both of California’s health insurance regulators said they will investigate how Aetna Inc. makes coverage decisions, as the lawsuit of a California man who is suing the nation’s third-largest insurer for improper denial of care heads for opening arguments on Wednesday.
There are a lot of requirements if you want to vote in Kansas. You must be 18 years old. You need to show a photo ID at your polling place and show proof of U.S. citizenship when you register to vote.
The Education Department confirmed for the first time that it will cease to investigate complaints filed by transgender students over which bathrooms they're allowed to use because it does not consider the issue protected under Title IX.
The former commander of the Milwaukee County Jail and two other jail staffers were charged Monday in connection with the April 2016 dehydration death of Terrill Thomas, with the complaint saying guards "abandoned" him to die.
California voters passed a law two years ago that allows terminally ill people to take lethal drugs to end their lives, but controversy is growing over a newer rule that effectively bans that option in the state’s eight veterans’ homes.
After jurors on Monday convicted two Baltimore police officers who conspired to rob citizens, many city leaders condemned their actions but saw the verdict as a springboard for reform.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday ordered counties that plan to replace their electronic voting systems to buy machines that leave a paper trail — a safeguard against hacking — but his budget doesn’t include any money to fund the replacement of the state’s aging, increasingly vulnerable fleet.
Former state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner -- the most recent Republican not named Arnold Schwarzenegger to win statewide office -- is running for his old job.
Nebraska is the first state to require reporting of all dispensed prescription drugs to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
The manufacturer of the powerful painkiller OxyContin announced this week that it will stop promoting its opioid drugs to doctors after years of criticism and mounting lawsuits, some based in part on a Times investigation.
President Trump’s proposed budget would slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving states and localities with an extra burden.
The president's budget calls for a $1.1 billion investment in school choice.
The president's budget released on Monday confirms most of a leaked proposal and would add to the administration's recent changes to the safety net.
When Pennsylvania state Rep. Thomas Caltagirone was accused of harassing a staff member, the Legislature settled the matter outside of court. The state’s insurance paid out $250,000 in 2015, and no one said a word — even during the next year’s elections, when Caltagirone retained his seat.
Bus service for Seattle Public Schools students will resume Monday after the union representing 400 school-bus drivers voted Saturday to end their weeklong strike.
When Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and California legislative leaders needed a handful of votes last year to push a gasoline tax hike over the finish line, they turned to a well-tested, yet widely disparaged, tool: “earmarks” for wavering lawmakers’ pet projects.
A $500 million deal to sell Harvey Weinstein's troubled old studio to former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet hit a major roadblock over the weekend after the New York attorney general's office expressed serious concerns about the sale.
Airlines are suing Washington state to avoid complying with the mandatory paid sick leave law that took effect Jan. 1.
Facing a deadline imposed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the state legislature's two top Republicans late Friday submitted to the governor a new statewide map of congressional districts to replace boundaries that the court ruled were unconstitutional.
The majority of states now have the green light from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to begin implementing a sweeping federal law passed in 2015 to replace the much-maligned No Child Left Behind law.
An explosion and fire at an electric substation threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness late Sunday in a setback for the U.S. territory's efforts to fully restore power more than five months after Hurricane Maria started the longest blackout in U.S. history.
The president’s long-awaited infrastructure plan pushes state and local governments to spend more but offers them a smoother path to getting federal regulatory approval.
An idea that flopped a decade ago -- to charge people who drive into the center of New York City -- now has powerful backers.
When your crime is no longer considered a crime, should it still count against you? Not when the crime is small-time marijuana possession, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes said Thursday.
An ethics complaint alleging Mayor Megan Barry's affair with a police officer unduly influenced her stance on criminal justice policy has prompted a new city investigation into the mayor.
The Eastern North Carolina town of Pikeville only has 670 people in it, so that narrowed the list of suspects for burning down the town hall in November.
Sen. Jeff Kruse filed resignation papers Thursday, capping a months-long sexual harassment scandal by agreeing to leave the Legislature after 22 years.
A California state assemblywoman and prominent voice in the fight against sexual harassment in Sacramento is now facing allegations that she harassed and groped a legislative staffer.
Last week, Seattle became the first city to crack down on the secrecy surrounding online political ads. Experts say it likely won't be the last.
The Roca program has helped keep hundreds of youths out of jail in Massachusetts. Now officials want to transplant that success to one of the toughest crime cities in the nation.
After a brief shutdown on Friday, the House voted just before dawn on a two-year spending plan.
San Francisco is on track to open its first two safe injection sites this July, a milestone that will likely make the city the first in the country to embrace the controversial model of allowing drug users to shoot up under supervision.
After a four-month standoff, and a brief shutdown on Friday, Congress will provide long-term relief to community health centers and programs that help at-risk parents and low-income families.
Florida's Rick Scott and Wisconsin's Scott Walker say it's about the money. Democrats -- emboldened after a series of wins, including on Tuesday -- say the Republicans are trying to avoid losing more legislative seats.
A new poll shows strong opposition to the new Medicaid policy being pushed by the Trump administration. But it contradicts other recent surveys.
Comprehensive coverage for more than 800,000 low-income people in New York and Minnesota who pay a fraction of the typical cost of a marketplace plan may be in jeopardy after the federal government partially cut funding this year.
Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday that the state will end a four-year experiment with privatizing its prison food service after years of maggots in food, smuggling by kitchen employees, kitchen workers having sex with inmates, inadequate staffing levels and other problems documented by the Free Press in a series of articles.
Delegating IT to the techies isn't the way for governments to get the most out of today's increasingly powerful technology.
California officials said they will block the federal government from transporting oil using existing or new pipelines, a move that would disrupt President Trump's plan to expand drilling off the state's coast.
Before Brightline comes rolling through Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos Gimenez has asked the Florida Department of Transportation to evaluate safety measures in place at the railway crossings along the private passenger line's route.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder is ramping up his efforts to reshape Republican-drawn congressional district maps.
The U.S. official in charge of protecting American elections from hacking says the Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Betsy DeVos became famous — and infamous in some quarters — as the leader of an education movement that pushed for public funding for private schools, including religious education.
The office of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday backed away from comments made by his transportation chief that the state has promised Amazon.com a “blank check” for transportation improvements to lure the company’s second headquarters to Montgomery County.
After much drama leading to this year’s open enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage — a shorter time frame, a sharply reduced federal budget for marketing and assistance, and confusion resulting from months of repeal-and-replace debate — the final tally paints a mixed picture.
In the immediate aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, there was a fevered pitch to ban bump stocks, the device that allowed the shooter’s semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid fire of machine guns.
When Utah shelled out nearly $2 million to keep its national parks open during the federal government’s two-week shutdown in 2013, state leaders thought the federal government would pay them back all the money once it reopened. It didn’t.
A lesser-known provision in the GOP tax overhaul ends the benefits for victims of small-scale disasters.
The roll-out of autonomous vehicles will be gradual, Gov. Rick Snyder said recently. But that doesn’t mean states should wait to address some of the technology’s potential downsides.
Democrats flipped a state House seat on Tuesday. Some say Eric Greitens, whose extramarital affair has prompted a criminal investigation, is the reason. But he shows no signs of quitting.
Programs that help the most vulnerable populations -- including food stamps, cash welfare and child care -- are most affected.
For years, a glitch in a Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) system caused thousands of people to be left off the state's voter rolls.
Abortion clinics in Toledo and Cleveland have lost their attempts before the Ohio Supreme Court to challenge state restrictions on abortion.
The Long Island Rail Road should have foreseen the potential for a morning rush-hour crash that was caused by an engineer's undiagnosed sleep apnea and injured more than 100 passengers at Atlantic Terminal in 2017, according to a new federal report.
Sen. Jeff Kruse not only subjected two female senators to unwanted touching, he groped or gave lingering hugs to many other women working at the Oregon Capitol, an independent investigator concluded in a damning report released Tuesday.
Following reports of sexual harassment in the Kansas Capitol, Gov. Jeff Colyer on Monday signed an executive order requiring all executive branch employees to receive sexual harassment training each year.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday unveiled his latest effort combatting President Donald Trump's administration.
A Pennsylvania state representative called for five Democratic justices to be impeached after they struck down the state's congressional map for gerrymandering.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Stanford University law professor's election districts for state General Assembly seats in Wake and Mecklenburg counties while leaving his maps in place in six other counties while lawmakers appeal a three-judge panel's ruling.
Average annual suicide rates vary significantly across the country.
California is setting the pace in the U.S., but one small country is far ahead of the rest of the world. Many factors are at work.
While the nation's largest metro areas generally outperformed the rest of the country, some mid-sized and small regions made significant employment gains.
Cities have learned a lot from convening citizens and listening to them. States should give it a try.
Some of its expenses are easy to quantify. But most aren’t.
As the Trump administration lets states experiment with work requirements and other eligibility rules, the costs are adding up. Some policy experts worry they are "shifting spending from health care for needy families to administrative bureaucracy."
As advertisers tried to grab attention during Super Bowl Sunday, Kentucky State Police made a tweet that made a reference to rape in prison in attempts to discourage people from drinking and driving.
One of the women who came forward to accuse President Donald Trump of sexual harassment that took place before his election plans to run for an state House seat in northern Ohio, House Democrats say.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene Monday in a Pennsylvania gerrymandering case with national implications, denying Republican lawmakers' attempt to delay drawing a new congressional map and increasing the likelihood that the map will be redrawn in time for this year's midterm elections.
When vacancies are high, there are consequences -- and many places are feeling them.
Demographics, gun ownership and the economy largely account for the regional differences.
Gov. Scott Walker's administration estimates that implementing his proposed limits on welfare could cost state and federal taxpayers nearly $90 milliona year, plus millions more in startup expenses.
After years of court wrangling over the dangers of unmitigated summer heat in cellblocks, Texas prison officials have reached a tentative settlement to provide air conditioning at a geriatric prison outside of Houston along with resolving lawsuits involving inmates who died or were injured by excessive heat in several other prisons.
When a federal lawsuit challenging Kansas's proof of citizenship voter law goes to trial in March, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach plans to be in the courtroom.
Baltimore's law department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against opioid manufacturers and distributors over the marketing of addictive pain pills, adding the weight of the Maryland jurisdiction hardest hit by the overdose crisis to the legal campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable.
Indiana on Friday became the second state to win federal approval to add a work requirement for adult Medicaid recipients who gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, but a less debated “lockout” provision in its new plan could lead to tens of thousands of enrollees losing coverage.
Utah’s chief law enforcement officer was deep in the fight against opioids when he realized that a lack of data on internet sales of Fentanyl was hindering investigations. So the officer, Keith D. Squires, the state’s public safety commissioner, created a team of analysts to track and chronicle online distribution patterns of the drug.
A train switch that was apparently locked in the wrong position is being blamed for a train collision early Sunday that killed two people and injured up to 116 others near Cayce, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has forced out the leader of the state's Democratic Party after newspaper columnist criticized him for not supporting and protecting women from sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace.
Everyone agrees the state's education system isn't working. But no one can agree on how to fix it.
At a time when most government agencies are only vaguely aware of the technology, Colorado could become an early adopter.
The Illinois Supreme Court took another bite out of the state's gun laws on Thursday, ruling that a provision barring firearms near public parks is unconstitutional.
A group of LGBT activists launched an ad campaign Thursday to demand that Amazon.com Inc. locate its second headquarters in a state that protects LGBT people from discrimination.
Maryland's Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced plans Thursday to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of part the new federal tax law that disproportionately hurts high tax states like Maryland.
The Arizona House of Representatives voted Thursday to immediately expel Rep. Don Shooter from office for "dishonorable" behavior after an investigation found he sexually harassed women over many years.
As the Trump administration moves to give states more flexibility in running Medicaid, advocates for the poor are keeping a close eye on Indiana to see whether such conservative ideas improve or harm care.
January in Southern California is typically marked by rain, chilly temperatures and snow-capped mountains.
Florida’s system of barring felons from voting unless they receive executive clemency is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
A law firm hired by the government of Turkey is lobbying state officials across the U.S. about what it alleges is a suspicious network of American charter schools run by a dangerous Turkish opposition leader.
During a speech to pastors in Kansas City in December, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley linked the problem of sex trafficking to the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
The failure to pass a long-term federal budget is hurting clinics that largely serve low-income and rural areas. States aren't offering any relief.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Key GOP-held attorneys general seats are becoming more competitive, paving the way for Democrats to possibly flip their balance in the states.
For decades, Kathy Hoell has struggled to vote. Poll workers have told the 62-year-old Nebraskan, who uses a powered wheelchair and has a brain injury that causes her to speak in a strained and raspy voice, that she isn’t smart enough to cast a ballot. They have led her to stairs she couldn’t climb and prevented her from using an accessible voting machine because they hadn’t powered it on.
After months of waiting, Kansas has a new governor.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati said Wednesday he would not turn over any data requested by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the wake of the gerrymandering ruling that Republicans have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review.
Reviews of 'sentinel events' can shift the emphasis away from blame and toward risk mitigation and continuous improvement.
It was expected to be a perfunctory statehouse meeting — three lobbyists and a legislator discussing a proposal to educate Louisiana doctors about the price of drugs they prescribe.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, announced a new set of guidelines on Wednesday for how it will conduct arrests in courthouses.
San Francisco will retroactively apply California's marijuana-legalization laws to past criminal cases, District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday -- expunging or reducing misdemeanor and felony convictions going back decades.
Mayor Megan Barry said Wednesday she had an extramarital affair with the police officer in charge of her security detail, an extraordinary admission that rocks the popular Nashville mayor's first term.
A new study, done in Los Angeles, suggests that higher car ownership is actually most to blame.
Adding a warning to false accusers in the state Senate's newly revised anti-sexual harassment policy is an example of "the type of intimidation" that has kept harassment victims from coming forward.
Ten states have special legislative elections this month -- several because politicians facing allegations have either left office or committed suicide.
Politicians from both political parties reacted angrily to news of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's plan to end shipment of emergency food and water supplies to storm-battered Puerto Rico. On Tuesday, several lawmakers called on the agency to reverse its decision.
Republican Mae Beavers said Tuesday on Facebook she is suspending her campaign for Tennessee governor after reporting earlier in the day she raised just $163,947 during the last six months for her statewide bid and had about the same amount remaining in cash.
Pointing to economic stagnation and a culture of official corruption, state Senate Republican Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco on Tuesday announced his bid to seek the Republican nomination for governor.
The Nevada board that regulates gambling announced Tuesday that it was opening an investigation into sweeping claims of sexual misconduct by casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox says talking about a work requirement for existing Medicaid recipients is a precondition for any expansion of health care coverage for low income Virginians.
Gov. Greg Abbott is in the process of replacing two top officials at the scandal-plagued juvenile justice agency that is still adjusting to a new executive director who took the helm last month.
Hawaii's state emergency manager resigned Tuesday after officials said a recent false alarm warning of an incoming missile was triggered by an employee who got confused during an unplanned drill and thought the state was really under attack.
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was arrested for having a loaded handgun at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson on Jan. 2, according to the Associated Press.
Louis Jacobson, Politifact senior correspondent and Governing contributor, makes his predictions based on consultations with multiple experts in the states as well as national party strategists.
At one point in his address, the president seemed to call for abolishing civil service protections for federal employees.
Learn what budget-strapped agencies can do to compete for the best talent and create their workforce of the future.
A sitting commissioner in the sleepy Miami-Dade coastal town of North Bay Village, Hornsby was removed from office Monday after government officials determined he was never eligible to take his post.
Chris Christie is trading a beach chair for a seat in a news studio.
For more than 50 years, the program for the poor and sick has been required to ferry certain clients to and from medical appointments. But a few states have sought — and received — waivers to that rule.
Amazon is diving into health care, teaming up with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the New York bank JPMorgan Chase, to create a company that helps their U.S. employees find quality care "at a reasonable cost."
Gov. Murphy on Monday signed an executive order for New Jersey to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, reversing a decision by former Gov. Chris Christie that has rankled environmentalists for seven years.
Eliminating layers of them would do more than save money. It would empower public workers and unleash their capabilities.
As civic employees work tirelessly to coordinate relief efforts, their human resource teams care for them.
The cities that achieved the top grades in a new certification program have important things in common.
