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The legislature must decide whether residents will keep being charged, possibly for decades, for the failed project.
Photos and musings from our photographer David Kidd.
Some cities and states have to get creative to market themselves.
In what some say is a first in the world, D.C.'s latest venture gives taxi drivers new business and simultaneously cuts its own costs.
When hackers target hospitals, the consequences can be dire. Yet hospitals have little help preventing or responding to such attacks.
Scandals surrounding abuse and corruption are spurring cities across the country to adopt civilian oversight boards. But some argue they have the opposite effect that advocates are looking for.
For one, many states have to figure out how to manage their marijuana revenue.
Dealing a setback to Gov. Jay Inslee's climate agenda, a judge has invalidated major portions of a state rule requiring greenhouse-gas cuts by refineries, fuel distributors and dozens of other major industrial emitters.
Former Bangor mayor Sean Faircloth filed papers Tuesday to run for governor.
The looming demise of Obamacare’s individual mandate is spurring talks in a handful of blue states about enacting their own coverage requirements, as state officials and health care advocates fear repeal will roil their insurance markets.
Citing Congress’ failure to restore federal funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Alabama plans to drop 7,000 kids from coverage on New Year’s Day, the first step to shutting down coverage for everyone, state officials said Monday.
As Congress speeds toward a vote on its massive tax overhaul, the lack of funding to cover the costs of the package means Western states are poised to lose nearly $1.3 billion in oil, gas and coal royalties.
After a speeding Amtrak train derailed during its first trip on a new rail line -- on the heels of two deadly passenger rail crashes blamed on high speed since 2015 -- safety experts on Tuesday asked why the train did not have the latest automated control system.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Tuesday that President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner “deserves the scrutiny” he’s received from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in the ongoing Russia probe.
A 16-agency coalition in the New York City area offers lessons for other regions.
The old saying "every vote counts" may never have been more true than in Virginia Tuesday. A recount in a Newport News district appears to have flipped the outcome and moved the House of Delegates to a 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats, ending 17 years of GOP control.
Most politicians believe moderation doesn’t help Democrats much in the Deep South. Louisiana’s governor, who's trying to fix the state's finances, isn’t one of them.
Even though it's an election year, these policies and problems are too important and timely for legislatures to ignore.
They rarely collaborate. But Jenni Owen, the policy director for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, is part of a growing relationship between government and academia.
Key provisions will likely increase states and localities' current debt load and make it more expensive for them to borrow in the future. The bill's impact on supply and demand in the municipal bond market, however, is unclear.
Phil Bredesen joins a group of 16 former governors who have run since 2000. Their campaigns -- failed or otherwise -- offer insight into his chances in 2018.
The Maryland community combined cost-effective technology and data analysis to get its speeding problem under better control.
Tens of thousands of Illinois households aren't receiving federal food stamp benefits leading up to the holidays because of problems with a state computer system.
Gov. Wolf on Monday vetoed a measure passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that would have restricted abortion rights, calling it a "vile assault on women's ability to make their own decisions about their own health care."
In a sit-down interview, State Attorney General Doug Chin told Hawaii News Now he will be running for U.S. Congress.
A federal judge in Philadelphia on Friday temporarily blocked Trump administration rules that would limit women's access to free birth control under the Affordable Care Act.
Puerto Rico is launching an official review of the death count from Hurricane Maria, which devastated this US territory on September 20.
The Republican tax bill, largely written by lawmakers from rural and Southern red states, is about to squeeze urban America.
The Amtrak train that derailed Monday morning on its inaugural trip through a faster railway route was supposed to slow dramatically before entering the curve where the crash occurred.
Congress is set to consider an $81 billion disaster aid package that includes wildfire recovery money for California and other Western states as well as hurricane relief with a price tag reflecting a year of record-setting natural calamities.
Alfred Thomas, the police chief in Charlottesville, Virginia, has announced his retirement on Monday after 27 years of law enforcement service. The decision comes just weeks after the release of a critical review of his department's reaction to a violent white nationalist rally over the summer.
President Trump signed a bill last week that bans Kaspersky Lab software on federal computers. Local governments were initially hesitant to stop using it, but most are now following the feds' lead.
The Republican Party of Texas sued the secretary of state Friday to keep U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold off the 2018 ballot after the congressman accused of sexual harassment said he will not seek reelection.
Complaints have circulated for years that Wilmington smells a lot like cat urine, and the state of North Carolina is finally ready to confirm it's not imaginary.
Power has been restored at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, city officials announced late Sunday night.
A Treasury Department watchdog has identified $3 million in questionable expenses by housing agencies in the District and 18 states that used federal funds to assist homeowners in danger of losing their properties.
Unless Congress provides funding before the end of the year, many of the nation’s 9,800 community health clinics will face service cuts or closure — potentially crippling a vital part of the health system that provides care in poor and underserved communities across every state.
Gov. Wolf on Sunday called on State Sen. Daylin Leach to resign in the wake of a report by the Inquirer and Daily News that eight women and three men have claimed that the Montgomery County legislator had inappropriately touched female campaign staffers or subjected them to highly sexualized conversations.
Billionaires, baseball players, politicians and everyday people filled San Francisco City Hall on Sunday to celebrate the life of Mayor Ed Lee, a man remembered for his dignity, humility and passion for the city.
The federal government is acting too slowly to protect transit facilities from suicide bombers, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Washington state Rep. Matt Manweller has resigned from his leadership position in the state House and been stripped from his role as the top Republican member on a labor committee, a top GOP lawmaker said Thursday.
The City of Philadelphia has paid $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit by a woman who claimed a veteran police commander sexually assaulted her when she was an officer in a department in which she said sexual harassment was pervasive
The days of wincing while driving through a Miami intersection on a yellow light will soon be over after city commissioners agreed Thursday to end their red light camera program early next year.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Thursday sued the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for failing to discharge student loans for students who attended Corinthian Colleges.
The state is barring insurance companies from charging more for drivers based on their occupation or level of education, under rules announced Wednesday by the state Department of Financial Services.
The widow of state Rep. Dan Johnson, who committed suicide Wednesday night, said she will seek to replace him in the legislature.
As a new mother, D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) often pauses during long workdays to go into her office, shut the door and pump milk for her 3-month-old daughter.
Attorneys general from "across the country" will sue the Federal Communications Commission in an attempt to reverse today's repeal of net neutrality rules.
Although it seemed like it at times, Obamacare wasn't the only health policy up for debate this year.
New studies shed light on the job security of certain government jobs in an increasingly digital age.
<i>The Week in Public Finance:</i> Tax Reform Games, a Mad Rush to Issue Muni Bonds and Pension Fees
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Its new ordinance exemplifies a shift in how cities across the country are trying to target panhandlers.
As North Carolina lawmakers debate whether to change how judges are picked, all the Democrats on a key committee protested Wednesday by walking out of a meeting they said was unfair and not very transparent.
Lawmakers from Texas and Florida are exceedingly anxious that hurricane recovery aid will be sidelined in next week’s government funding scramble amid internal disputes over who should get how much cash.
The blaze that swept through the hills of Los Angeles' Bel-Air section last week, destroying six homes and damaging a dozen others, was sparked by a cooking fire at a homeless encampment in a nearby ravine, city officials said Tuesday.
'Fair chance' employment policies aren't just good for the formerly incarcerated. They're good for everybody.
Global warming made Hurricane Harvey's 51 inches of rain three times more likely to occur when comparing today's climate to that of the 1880s, scientists say.
A Kentucky lawmaker who on Tuesday denied accusations that he molested a 17-year-old girl in 2012 died Wednesday night of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Bullitt County coroner.
Amid uncertainty about federal tax reform, states are exercising caution with their fiscal 2018 budgets.
Governments have been slow to adopt management practices that are proven to dramatically improve performance. There's no excuse.
The Des Moines school district has embraced the continuous improvement approach. It's making a lot of progress toward eliminating wasteful practices and transforming performance.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has threatened former Atlanta mayoral candidate Mary Norwood with legal action over statements about voter impersonation that she made earlier this year.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced Wednesday that his lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, will replace Al Franken after the Democratic senator formally resigns.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper rallied a bipartisan band of governors again on Tuesday in a letter to Congress urging the renewal of a children's health insurance program for low-income families.
Maryland will track allegations of sexual harassment made against state lawmakers, and politicians who violate the state's code of conduct can be expelled from the legislature.
Gov. Scott Walker signed a measure Monday clearing the way for mining copper and gold in Wisconsin, handing a win to business groups over the proposal's environmental opponents.
Thirteen states have filed suit against Massachusetts in response to a law mandating certain humane practices in food production.
The votes cast by First Lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump in last month's New York mayoral election were tossed out after the president's wife and eldest daughter made mistakes in their absentee ballots, NBC News reported Tuesday.
The marquee outside the Heart of Fire Church says the Sunday sermon is "Satan accuses/God says you're not guilty."
The synthetic painkiller fentanyl has been the driving force behind the nation’s opioid epidemic, killing tens of thousands of Americans last year in overdoses. Now two states want to use the drug’s powerful properties for a new purpose: to execute prisoners on death row.
Secretary of State John Merrill said it's too soon to know whether the margin of victory by Doug Jones in Alabama's special election on Tuesday will trigger the state's automatic recount law.
Step 1: Attract citizens with interactive art installations. Step 2: Talk to them about the community.
The recount on Thursday confirmed Keisha Lance Bottoms' lead, likely keeping the city's decades-long tradition of black mayors alive. But shifting demographics will change how people lead it.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel took his anti-Trump shtick on the road Monday when he stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Vanessa Alarid was a lobbyist in New Mexico when she asked a lawmaker over drinks one night if she could count on his support for a bill that appeared to be coming down to a single vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court expanded its review of partisan gerrymandering, agreeing to consider arguments that a Maryland congressional district was unconstitutionally drawn to ensure the ouster of a Republican lawmaker.
As Virginia schools struggle with a dearth of teachers, Gov. Terry McAuliffe wants colleges and universities to be able to fast-track the training of aspiring educators.
Nebraska Republican National Committeewoman Joyce Simmons resigned Monday in protest of the committee's financial support for Roy Moore.
Arkansas has joined at least 24 other states in adopting rules limiting the number and strength of opioid painkillers doctors can prescribe. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who urged the state medical board to adopt the regulations, called the move an important step in curtailing the “escalating danger” of opioid abuse in the state.
An ISIS-inspired would-be suicide bomber detonated a homemade pipe bomb strapped to his chest in a pedestrian tunnel packed with commuters beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, during Monday's busy morning rush, authorities said.
Buzzers for the front door. Security cameras. Bulletproof glass.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee died early Tuesday morning at age 65, his office said.
Milwaukee's program focuses on quick, cost-effective improvements that give its streets years more service.
The bill signed by President Trump helps states keep the Children's Health Insurance Program afloat, but it doesn't offer any reassurance that kids won't lose their health care in 2018.
Negotiators for Oakland's largest union and the city will head back to the bargaining table Monday, but the strike that's shut down major services for the past week will continue.
Protesters greeted President Donald Trump in the Mississippi capital Saturday as he came to speak at the opening of a civil rights museum.
Body Cameras Show Cop Fatally Shoot an Unarmed Man Crawling on the Floor. The Officer Was Acquitted.
The man knelt in the hotel hallway and pleaded with the officers: "Please do not shoot me."
Idaho state Rep. Paulette Jordan announced Thursday that she's running for governor in 2018, with the goal of helping Idaho become "the state it's destined to become."
Republican venture capitalist John Cox called for an end to one-party domination of state politics and a smaller government as he made his pitch to be California's next governor Thursday at a Public Policy Institute of California speaker series.
Gov. Jerry Brown surveyed the devastation Saturday in Ventura -- the area hardest hit by firestorms that have displaced nearly 90,000 people in Southern California -- calling it "the new normal."
With Congress closing in on a final tax cut bill, 21 Republican governors from across the country sent a letter Thursday to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) asking them to finish the job.
After several private companies tried -- and failed -- to deliver on-demand group transit, some cities are now building those services themselves.
The state has passed unprecedented regulations to protect borrowers from taking on debt they can't afford to pay back.
Schenectady County, N.Y., is on track to pay 20 percent less on prescription drugs for its employees this year than in 2003.
They say their economies could suffer if the FCC repeals net neutrality regulations.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is ending a high-profile program that used computer data mining to identify children at risk for serious injury or death after the agency's top official called the technology unreliable.
The Trump administration has begun the process of tightening welfare programs. Many conservative states have been waiting for a moment like this for years.
California and 13 other states sued the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday for ignoring an Oct. 1 deadline to update the nation's map of areas with unhealthy smog levels, saying the delay is endangering children and people who suffer from lung disease.
Gov. Paul LePage said Thursday that despite a report this week by the Washington Post, he will not run for the U.S. Senate against independent incumbent Angus King.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to appoint his lieutenant governor and close ally, Tina Smith, to Al Franken’s seat, three people familiar with the Democratic governor’s thinking said.
Michigan could end up being the only state in the country where legislators pass and reject laws without the public knowing about their personal finances, a distinction that good government watchdogs say is an embarrassment that must be changed.
Houston entrepreneur Andrew White, son of the late Gov. Mark White, announced Thursday he is running as a conservative Democrat against Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
Even before the dramatic Southern California wildfires began their harrowing path this week, California was already experiencing its deadliest and most destructive fire season ever.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
An inevitable candidate. Accusations of a rigged primary. Early commitments from organized labor.
Damage claims from the October wildfires that tore through Wine Country and beyond have jumped to $9 billion, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Wednesday.
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a white former North Charleston police officer to 20 years in prison for the 2015 killing of an unarmed African American man who was running away when shot and killed.
When it comes to evidence-based policymaking, states are out ahead of the feds. These efforts to turn data into insights should be expanded.
When it comes to capturing millennial talent, they should look to one other for guidance.
It was widely expected, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren formally endorsed her fellow Democrat, Richard Cordray, for Ohio governor.
Gov. Tom Wolf urged Republican state House leaders Wednesday to consider removing state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe from a committee chairmanship following controversial comments he made a day earlier.
President Donald Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run against U.S. Sen. Angus King in 2018, according to White House advisers.
Homeless families in the District will likely have to take additional steps to prove they’re eligible for shelter on freezing winter nights after the D.C. Council on Tuesday approved sweeping changes to the laws that govern homeless services in the nation’s capital.
U.S. health spending rose to $3.3 trillion in 2016, but the pace slowed compared to the previous two years as demand for drugs, hospital care and physician services weakened, according to a federal study released Wednesday.
The Trump administration sided against public employee unions Wednesday evening in a Supreme Court case that could deal the labor movement a crippling financial blow.
Wildfires Close Hundreds of Schools and Prompt 100,000 Evacuations, Even in the Heart of Los Angeles
The magnitude of the wildfire siege in parts of Southern California continued to worsen Wednesday, with more than 100,000 people forced from their homes and authorities warning of the return of dangerous winds on Thursday.
David Ermold, one of the men denied a same-sex marriage license by Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in 2015, hopes to challenge her for the clerk's seat next year, he announced Wednesday.
Homelessness has shot up in California and elsewhere on the West Coast over the past two years, a federal report said Wednesday, as rising rents and other housing pressures forced more people from the margins onto the street.
The public sector needs a discussion about issues of transparency, fairness and the preservation of human values.
Minnesota's efforts to bring diversity and inclusivity to its contracting and purchasing are setting the pace.
The David Bohnett Foundation is funding a pipeline -- albeit, small -- of young people who want to work in local government.
USDA signaled on Tuesday plans to give states greater flexibility over how they administer food stamps, potentially opening the door to stricter work requirements or drug testing on recipients.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous released a plan Wednesday calling on Maryland to take the plunge and create a universal health care system without waiting for the the federal government to take the lead.
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe told a Democratic male colleague to stop touching his arm Tuesday during a House committee meeting because he's heterosexual, and then urged the Democrat to look to people in his own party if he wanted to touch men.
Iowa and 12 other states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a California law that restricts eggs sold in that state to come from hens that have room to extend their limbs.
For more than a year, Uber Technologies Inc. concealed a massive hack that exposed the personal data of millions of drivers and riders, violating a California law that requires companies to promptly report such breaches, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.
Ferocious Santa Ana winds blew flames across bone-dry grasslands and into neighborhoods, leveling at least 180 structures and forcing tens of thousands to flee, while ensuring that the state's worst fire season on record would push well into the holidays.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a Colorado case about a same sex-wedding cake that ultimately could determine where the legal system draws the line between discrimination and religious freedom.
With most precincts reporting, Keisha Lance Bottoms held a narrow lead over Mary Norwood on Tuesday in the race for Atlanta mayor.
Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg is stepping down from his position for the duration of the investigation after bombshell sexual misconduct allegations against his husband Bryon Hefner, a Senate aide confirmed to The Republican/MassLive.com.
The legal strategy to get states to provide adequate education funding has changed -- and it's working in schools' favor.
It adds to the growing body of evidence that addressing homelessness saves money elsewhere.
Legislators and staff in the Iowa House of Representatives will be required to undergo sexual harassment training before the start of the next legislative session.
A fast-moving, wind-fueled California brush fire exploded to at least 10,000 acres Monday night in the foothills near Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula and triggered mandatory evacuations of hundreds of homes, officials said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his Democratic counterparts in California and New Jersey are exploring the option of going to court to fight the Republican tax overhaul plan -- specifically, the GOP's desire to end or greatly reduce the federal deduction for state and local taxes.
Judges are set to hear recount petitions in three Virginia House of Delegates races this week, while a fourth has yet to be scheduled.
Sacramento lobbyist Pamela Lopez has claimed that, in 2016, Democratic Assemblyman Matt Dababneh followed her into a bathroom, masturbated in front of her and urged her to touch him. Dababneh has strongly denied the allegation.
Once again, little-known Democratic gubernatorial candidates trying to increase their statewide profiles through a debate were upstaged Monday with word that another candidate is entering the race.
The Supreme Court appeared poised Monday to legalize sports betting nationwide by freeing states from a federal anti-gaming law.
The largest metro areas and those with highly educated workforces have rebounded well, but many other regions have struggled to recover job losses.
Denying the city of Houston’s request, the U.S. Supreme Court will not review a June decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled that the landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage does not fully address the right to marriage benefits.
Asked what advice he would give to Jeff Colyer when he takes over as governor of Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback answered with one word: Pray.
The Texas House Administration Committee unanimously approved an updated sexual harassment policy Friday that gives examples of such harassment, offers guidance for internal and external complaint processes and lays out counseling information.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has written to President Donald Trump in a personal appeal to reject recommendations to penalize Samsung, the South Korea-based home appliance manufacturing giant preparing to open a major plant in the Palmetto State.
For a peek into a world after a massive tax cut, visit North Carolina and ride along with factory owner Eric Henry.
Some see a renewed relationship between the states and the federal government. Some see Cabinet members who are engaged and willing to work with the states.
On a sunny November afternoon in this quiet college community, a steady stream of customers walks through the doors of a local cafe called Oasis for a cup of an increasingly popular herbal beverage.
Just as entrepreneurs getting into the retail pot industry need a good lawyer, some of those lawyers might be wise to consult an attorney of their own.
Notices will be sent out later this month to the parents of 17,000 Connecticut children and teens covered by the federal Children's Health Insurance Program, warning them their coverage could end early next year if Congress doesn't act soon.
