Archive
According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services investigation, many doctors listed as serving low-income patients either can't offer appointments at all or have months-long wait times.
Statistics on car-free households and numbers of vehicles per household for cities.
A lawsuit challenging Alabama’s method of taxing diesel fuel for trains comes before the U.S. Supreme Court today. Does the fuel tax unfairly favor trucks over trains?
The number of suicides in America is growing, particularly in the West, but the issue rarely garners attention from most policymakers.
Many courts across the country are moving to paperless systems in an effort to save money.
When it came to winning the public's approval, Washington, D.C.'s "Mayor for Life" knew that a little bit goes a long way.
Current and historical statistics on suicide deaths by state.
The federal government is seeking to partner with states and localities to help the more than 5 million young adults out of school and work.
Massachusetts last year became one of the first states to require food stamp cards to include photos of recipients, but the new program has created such confusion that some low-income families are unable to buy groceries and the federal government is demanding that the state quickly fix the problem.
Ride-sharing service Uber has expanded quickly by rallying public support for its service before city regulators could catch up. It became so popular in places such as San Francisco that politicians would have paid a big political price had they tried to slow it down.
Hundreds of people marched through Berkeley for a third night a row, blocking a major highway and stopping a train as activists in this ultra-liberal bastion protest grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of two unarmed black men.
New York state's top law enforcement official asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to grant him the power to investigate police killings of unarmed civilians after a pair of grand jury decisions in New York City and Ferguson, Mo., led to violence, protests and caused many to question the way police-involved slayings are reviewed.
Amid heightened national attention to police behavior, Attorney General Eric Holder unveiled new federal guidelines Monday restricting the use of profiling by federal law enforcement officers.
State lawmakers in New Jersey investigating last year's scheme to snarl traffic leading to the George Washington Bridge say they've yet to turn up evidence that Gov. Chris Christie knew anything about it.
Veniam, a new civic tech startup in Mountain View, Calif., aims to supply cities with affordable and infrastructure-friendly hot spots using public transit.
Until now, there was no universal, comprehensive methodology for cities around the world to measure their emissions. One of the tool's creators explains its power in the fight against climate change.
Health homes are intended to coordinate physical and mental health treatment for “super-utlizers” of health care, people whose complex medical problems make them disproportionately heavy users of expensive health care services.
The state has flubbed four executions in the last eight years. And now Ohio is fast-tracking a new death-row secrecy law so it can proceed with a January execution anyway.
Federal oversight can promote progress, but it's usually a rocky process.
The U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division announced it found a pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force" in Cleveland police. Other cities are pursuing reforms on their own in response to criticism that police use force too often.
With most of the new money going toward education and Medicaid and expected pushes for tax cuts from new Republican lawmakers, the competition for the limited leftovers remains fierce.
Unlike nearly every other state, California lacks a central board that oversees higher education, pitting political leaders against university administrators. At issue now is a 28 percent tuition hike.
A few renovations are needed before Greg Abbott, the first Texas governor to use a wheelchair, moves to the 1856 house in January.
The Texas prison system is making it easier for family members to visit loved ones behind bars.
Angry lawmakers vow to take action on problems with care for troubled youths.
A recent survey reveals how local governments are using technology (both new and old) to engage citizens and improve performance.
Building on previous suggestions, including the establishment of two specialized Ebola treatment centers, a task force on Thursday released its full report on how the state could better handle an outbreak of an infectious disease.
The governor faces a skeptical Legislature, though, especially after he and lawmakers learned this week that any alternative to expanding traditional Medicaid will cost millions more than previously thought.
A new Georgia Supreme Court decision is leading to the cancellation of tens of thousands of arrest warrants for people accused of failing to complete their misdemeanor probation requirements, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Often criticized for perpetuating a city of haves and have-nots, Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired back Saturday with his own tale of two cities -- the old Chicago and new Chicago -- as he kicked off his campaign for a second term.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane will not defend a new law that effectively stripped municipalities of the right to enact their own gun measures, raising the prospect that the controversial statute might not take hold.
A more-than-yearlong effort by New Jersey lawmakers to determine who was ultimately responsible for the September 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge -- and why they happened -- has not yielded evidence that Gov. Christie knew of or was involved in the closures.
It was one of the first cities to join a nationwide movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. The city's director of energy and sustainability looks back at what's changed in the past decade.
Party money is now pouring into these races, which once drew little attention. The threat to the integrity of elections these officials administer worries two former secretaries of state.
How to retrofit housing for earthquakes? Build more housing.
Total payroll employment rose by 321,000 in November, but public-sector job growth remained unchanged.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a lower federal court ruling that Gov. Rick Scott's crusade to conduct drug tests on welfare recipients as a condition of their benefits was unconstitutional.
An estimated $270 million in federal funding was left on the table when Illinois lawmakers didn't vote Wednesday on a measure to create a state-run health insurance exchange.
A white former police chief in a tiny South Carolina town has been indicted on murder charges in the 2011 shooting of an unarmed black man. The indictment Wednesday came the same day a Staten Island grand jury declined to criminally charge a white New York City police officer in the killing of Eric Garner.
A caravan of misery lined the sidewalk along Story Road. Evicted homeless people stood beside a seemingly endless row of shopping carts filled with their meager possessions as they watched city workers descend into "the Jungle" Thursday and begin dismantling the infamous encampment.
The chants are angry, but simple: "I can't breathe!" "Hands up, don't shoot!" "Black lives matter!" They have echoed from the American heartland to the coasts in the wake of two recent grand jury decisions that cleared white policemen in the deaths of unarmed black men.
A white Phoenix police officer shot and killed an unarmed black suspect he believed was reaching for a gun on Tuesday night, adding to a series of fatal clashes between police and civilians that has led to unrest throughout the country.
Cleveland police have routinely engaged in "unreasonable and unnecessary" force, including a half-hour police chase involving 100 officers that left two unarmed African-Americans dead when police mistook the car backfiring for gunshots and shot each of them more than 20 times, a Justice Department investigation revealed Thursday.
The plan, called A Healthy Florida Works, offers an alternative to the ACA model while proposing a politically viable path for Florida’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives to extend coverage to more residents.
The Florida capitol’s holiday display will include a festive message from the Satanic Temple.
Under the new procedure, reporters will be required to affirm that they do not lobby or advocate for a political party, group or individual.
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer asks a judge to stop a smartphone app that allows people to order pot and alcohol delivered to their doors.
Affordable technology is providing new ways for governments with limited resources to improve their services and engage with residents.
Maggie Miller, former CIO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, will make New York state her eighth CIO position.
States don't when or whether funding for the federal-state, low-income Children’s Health Insurance Program will be authorized beyond Sept. 30, when it is set to expire.
Likely Democratic 2016 hopeful Martin O’Malley has added New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign manager to his team as a senior adviser as he prepares for a White House run.
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) was once among the handful of state executives to sue the federal government over the Affordable Care Act. Now, he says he wants his state to expand Medicaid under the ACA to cover thousands of low-income residents.
At a news conference Wednesday, Perry said he would be requiring all state agencies to use E-Verify, a federal electronic employee verification system that aims to prevent the hiring of illegal workers.
Texas and 16 other states sued the federal government and immigration agencies in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to try to derail President Obama's executive action deferring deportation for up to 5 million people, arguing it was unconstitutional and would worsen the humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The New York Police Department on Wednesday announced the start of a pilot program this week to fit some officers with body cameras, an idea that has gained nationwide attention in the wake of the shooting of a Ferguson, Mo., man that sparked mass protests.
A New York grand jury Wednesday opted not to indict a white policeman in the killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man whose last words -- "I can't breathe" -- became a rallying cry for protesters who blamed his death on racial profiling and police abuse.
New estimates show health-care spending grew 3.6 percent in 2013, which is the lowest rate since 1960.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a two-say sentence stay for the defense team of Scott Panetti, who tried to call John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II and Jesus Christ as witnesses in his murder trial.
Review household city Internet adoption rates and connections data
Some states have begun to focus on helping homeless children, but their efforts are being complicated by the way the federal government counts them.
A new survey examines the main reasons most government workers' health-care costs are increasing and how municipalities are responding.
The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to approve a stadium for the D.C. United soccer franchise, making way for a second pro sports facility near the banks of the Anacostia River and probably ending the team’s decade-long search for a new home.
The first major Pacific storm of the season drenched much of California on Tuesday, slaking a parched and dusty region, but still leaving the state deep in a historic drought.
Fallout over the Los Angeles school district's $1.3-billion plan to provide iPads to every student intensified Tuesday with the revelation that the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the failed effort.
Do it or else. Increasingly, that’s the approach taken by employers who are offering financial incentives for workers to take part in wellness programs that incorporate screenings that measure blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index, among other things.
A state crazy about college football will soon have one less college football team.
In a sudden reversal, Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday said he will not call a special session to appropriate emergency funds for security measures in Ferguson and the St. Louis area after Missouri Republican leaders voiced their doubt over its necessity.
A new report shows federal spending accounts for nearly one-fifth of the nation's economic activity, but its impact varies wildly from state to state.
Homeless patients are more likely to be readmitted to "safety net" hospitals when they have no safe place to recover from illnesses.
Tiny San Benito County provides a template for possible anti-fracking campaigns.
In Arizona, swings in Medicaid access show the program's impact.
Legal scholars say the decision could deal a potentially lethal blow to the law by undermining the government-run insurance marketplaces that are its backbone, as well as the mandate requiring most Americans to carry coverage.
Communities that cultivate a network of institutions and pay attention to the "3 Es" of resiliency will be better able to respond and adapt to new challenges.
After months of acrimony in which the chances of passage seemed bleak, plans for a $40 million early childhood education program in Indianapolis are on the verge of becoming reality.
Because California voters reduced penalties for a number of drug and theft crimes by passing Prop. 47, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer asked the City Council on Monday to let him hire more employees to file roughly 8,800 more cases expected annually -- crimes that used to be handled by the district attorney as felonies but now are misdemeanors.
In an effort to reduce the growing number of inmates with mental health and substance abuse problems in New York City’s jails, the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans on Monday to significantly expand public health services at almost every step of the criminal justice process.
A surge in health insurer competition appears to be helping restrain premium increases in hundreds of counties next year, with prices dropping in many places where newcomers are offering the least expensive plans, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of federal premium records.
The Philadelphia Police Department launched a pilot body-camera program Monday in which more than two dozen officers will wear the cameras while on duty for six months.
Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Monday that the department would begin testing body cameras on officers within about 60 days as part of a pilot project.
One day before its first-in-Texas ban on hydraulic fracturing is set to take effect, Denton called the oil and gas extraction technique a “public nuisance” that the North Texas town has the right to regulate.
The state's budget board selected an 11.68 percent budget growth rate with little discussion, though the decision could have a big impact on next year’s legislative session.
Falling gas prices have taken a toll on states that link their gas taxes to the price of fuel, rather than assessing it by the gallon.
Even with new laws outlawing "revenge porn" and cyberbullying, sexting is difficult to prosecute not only because youth are involved, but also because in most states it's not illegal.
President Obama proposes more training and technology for cops in the aftermath of Ferguson.
New York City's mayor is poised to introduce legislation this month that would eliminate the city's horse-drawn carriage industry.
The health secretary of Maryland, the only state yet to adopt another state's technology, details the switch that led to a successful second-year launch after an initial glitch-ridden rollout.
Water bills have increased faster than any other and show no signs of slowing down, hitting low-income Americans the hardest.
The Obama administration proposed Wednesday to tighten the allowable limit of ozone in the air, a bid to curtail the rising problem of asthma and other respiratory ailments but one that faces strong opposition from industry groups and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Single-sex education, common in the United States until the 19th century, when it fell into deep disfavor except in private or parochial schools, is on the rise again in public schools as educators seek ways to improve academic performance, especially among the poor.
More people applied for Louisiana's private school vouchers than there were spaces available this year, but over $3.7 million of the program's funding has still gone unused.
For the 2014-15 school year, the Kentucky Department of Education has approved waivers that allow Wolfe and Owsley and 11 other districts to use virtual or other non-traditional means of instruction when school is cancelled because of weather or another emergency. In many cases, students will participate in the snow day lessons online.
Gov. Deval Patrick is accepting no responsibility for the Democratic Party losing the State House Corner Office to Republican Charlie Baker after holding it for two terms, telling "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd this morning, "the outcome of elections depend on the candidates, not the folks or the guy on the sidelines."
Ferguson, Mo., will establish a civilian review board to monitor police conduct and will recruit more African American officers, the mayor announced Sunday.
The price the state's voters will end up paying for decades of electing irresponsible policymakers is likely to be very high.
The change prompts hostility from some states, gratitude from others.
State judicial campaigns once were typically sedate affairs, little noticed outside of bar association dinners, but that is changing rapidly under a new wave of campaign spending driven by outside political groups and unlimited donations.
Most states now have data-driven programs to combat an exploding number of sham tax refund filings, false Medicaid and unemployment claims and public assistance fraud that can cost governments billions of dollars.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Vermont's election was so close that the legislature must decide who wins when it convenes next year. If it's Gov. Shumlin as expected, many question what he can accomplish with so many unpopular programs.
Police made dozens more arrests overnight and used tear gas to break up crowds after another police car burned early Wednesday.
Regents of the system are considering unusual measures to deal with insufficient state funding.
Judges Kristine Baker in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Carlton Reeves in Jackson, Mississippi, ruled that the bans on gay matrimony denied guarantees of equal protection under the law for gay couples.
Four Midwestern governors are all considering bids for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, looking to run on success stories to revive the party’s Reagan Democrat coalition and speak to the middle class in a way Mitt Romney could not.
The first law of its kind prohibits chain stores from altering a worker’s schedule without two weeks notice.
Statewide, there are at least 32,000 Somalis as Minnesota, like many other states, adjusts to a second wave of immigration that is transforming the nation and our education system.
D.C. Council advances the stadium, but pitfalls remain before the project can proceed.
Outgoing Gov. Martin O’Malley says he is ready to allow hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from Western Maryland, with various restrictions.
Rating systems would track job placement and retention rates of graduates of teaching programs and the academic performance of their students.
Thousands of young performers fill the city's hotels in preparation for the event.
Municipalities and banks are getting friendlier, and it's starting to irk credit rating agencies.
The project will come out next year, providing access to some schools, fire stations and more private companies.
In an effort to reduce carcinogen exposure, Kathy Crosby-Bell wants washing machines added to Boston firehouses.
Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran has been suspended without pay after employees complained he had written a book in which he described homosexuality as a “sexual perversion” akin to bestiality.
Mayor Luigi Boria said businesses will sponsors the event, trying to ease residents’ concerns that the $2.5 million the city committed won’t come from taxpayer dollars.
The federal civil investigation into the Ferguson Police Department will continue and has the potential to result in some very significant reforms.
Washington area budget problems spark a move to break free from federal spending.
The Democratic National Committee said on Monday that it had narrowed its list of possible convention sites in 2016 to Columbus, Ohio; New York City; and Philadelphia.
UVA has drawn fire for its unsteady response to a report, published last week by Rolling Stone, that even students who had admitted to sexual assault had invariably escaped expulsion.
The grand jury decides that there will not be charges against Darren Wilson in the Ferguson, Mo., shooting.
Less than three months after losing control over $30 million in federal spending, Oklahoma again has a waiver from the 2001 law.
A new report advocates more programs that address the needs of parents and children simultaneously.
Everyone used to dry-farm wine grapes until the late 1970s, when irrigation was introduced.
Some states are requiring officials to undergo open government training to improve accountability and reduce public records lawsuits.
Through the years, justices have tried to determine whether Scott Panetti can understand that he has been sentenced to die and why.
Miami-Dade must reapprove the budget and tax rate after Florida finds that the county messed up a single number in a newspaper advertisement in mid-September detailing its proposed taxes.
Despite GOP success, the New Jersey governor still doesn't have much support among fellow Republicans.
The warmer temperatures and half-an-inch of rain could mean intense flooding for the beleaguered region.
After an unusual land deal, a giant spill and a tanker-train explosion, anxiety began to ripple across the state.
The ski industry, which expects higher temperatures, less snow and shorter seasons in the coming decades, is seen a bit like the canary in the coal mine of climatology.
A weekend when many had expected a decision by the grand jury became instead a weekend of uncertainty, with no word from the courthouse and confusion over how individuals and institutions should respond.
Some schools are improving grades by ramping up "blended-learning" programs
Former NYC mayor: "White police officers wouldn’t be there if you weren’t killing each other."
See which states are adding more jobs and those that lag behind.
Hawaii learned a few lessons from its efforts to "gamify" government. Government work is serious business – but maybe it doesn't have to be a no-fun, no-thrill zone for consumers.
Transit advocates say the commuter parking benefit increases congestion and disproportionately benefits wealthy workers. But getting rid of it won't be easy.
Tech leaders say presidential orders on immigration cannot address the problems that trouble technology companies most: tight limits on temporary visas for high-skilled workers, and a cumbersome system for achieving "green card" permanent resident status that causes too many workers to give up and go back home.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Since 2004, nine U.S. Catholic dioceses have filed for bankruptcy court protection as part of the clergy sexual abuse crisis that now threatens the finances of the Twin Cities archdiocese.
Despite South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson's efforts, from Columbia to Charleston, couples lined up at probate courts to obtain the licenses.
Ju Hong disrupted the president's West Coast immigration speech last year. It seems it might have worked.
The Obama administration overstated 2014 enrollment in health insurance plans purchased through the Affordable Care Act by more than 5 percent, officials acknowledged Thursday after the error was discovered by a congressional oversight committee.
As state regulators fret about how President Obama’s effort to combat climate change would affect the Texas power grid, a new study says the rules would be simpler to adopt than those regulators suggest – and that it would save the state billions of gallons of water annually.
Legislators plan to meet the day after Thanksgiving for a final update from the Parnell administration on the proposed natural gas pipeline. But they won't be allowed to attend unless they sign a secrecy pledge.
President Obama’s action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation and grant them work permits opens a new front in the decades-long debate over the scope of presidential authority.
Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott didn’t mince words while reacting to President Obama’s executive action that grants amnesty to roughly 5 million illegals, saying simply in a tweeted message: I’m going to sue.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has frequently butted heads with the federal government over the treatment of undocumented immigrants in Arizona, said Thursday that he was suing President Obama over Obama's recently unveiled immigration reform order.
