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By activating its nuclear option and cancelling its teachers' contract, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission took an action Monday that could remake the city's schools and have national implications.
MARTA union employees held up signs and shouted chants in the shadow of a Midtown high-rise building Monday to protest stalled negotiations and privatization efforts that could threaten hundreds of jobs.
As states gear up for round two of Obamacare enrollment next month, they have their sights set on people like Miles Alva.
Political rivals for New Mexico governor faced off in a Spanish debate Monday, a rare event that nonetheless marked an emerging trend as Republicans and Democrats around the U.S. court Hispanic voters.
President Obama announced his endorsement Monday of D.C. mayoral candidate Muriel E. Bowser, lending the support of the nation’s most prominent Democrat to the party’s nominee amid a hard-fought campaign against two independent candidates.
Officers in Ferguson, Mo., violated the Constitution by requiring peaceful protesters to keep moving rather than stand still during demonstrations that followed the Aug. 9 police shooting of an unarmed man, a federal judge said Monday.
In the bluest of states, Democrat Martha Coakley, best known for failing to win Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat, is polling evenly in this year's race against Republican Charlie Baker.
To head off problems before they become crises, states need to monitor their local governments' finances and borrowing practices.
Thanks to the way the deal to operate the Indiana Toll Road was structured, the state treasury and the road's users don't have anything to worry about.
Plus more public-sector management news you need to know.
A change at the top could dramatically change the chances for Medicaid expansion in several states.
Playing off the reality TV show, the ads compare gubernatorial candidates to wedding dresses. Critics call the campaign a failed attempt to connect with female voters.
It's up to voters this November, but other states have enacted similar moves only to encounter financial problems later.
With one month to go, the Democrats and Republicans are in a dead heat to win the most seats.
Factoring in the lifetime cost of new construction is considered good practice in the transportation industry, but surprisingly few government agencies do it.
Some 35 states allow voters to fill out ballots at polling stations or mail them prior to Election Day. Here's how that changes campaigns.
The Knight Foundation begins accepting applications for its new Cities Challenge program Wednesday. Unlike other competitive grant programs, anyone can apply.
The best public workers are looking for a lot more than good pay. There's plenty that can be done to keep them engaged and productive.
A California ballot measure would, among other things, make the state the nation's first to require drug testing for doctors, who supporters say may actually be more susceptible to drug use.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
A Philadelphia program is showing promise for engaging entrepreneurs in solving urban problems.
A new federal rule opens the door to counting municipal bonds in bank assets.
Arkansas' outgoing Democratic governor is one of the most popular governors in the country, but his successor may be a Republican he's already beat.
What seems like a simple romantic gesture is actually a major maintenance issue for bridges.
The GSA's Dan Tangherlini says government offices have to defy their reputation of being slow to change and inconvenient for the average working person.
According to a new report, states' spending on transportation has dropped far more than the federal government's in the last decade.
A new study looks at what happens to people when they leave housing programs.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
The VA scandal has its roots in two related management failures. Government leaders everywhere should keep them in mind.
While the city's parks no longer have to compete with police and other essential services for funding, this model has its drawbacks.
With 47 different state laws on what companies are supposed to do when they become victims of cyberattack, is it time for federal legislation?
There are financial and educational benefits to merging small school districts, yet it's almost always a hard sell.
At a time when people are flocking to cities, federal policies still heavily promote single-family homes and make it harder for people to buy condos.
It’s easy for officials to forget that the price of public goods should be kept low in order to increase use and promote economic growth.
Republican mayors are rare in America’s big cities today. The few surviving ones have tips for getting into and staying in office.
The Wisconsin Congressman's bold anti-poverty plan picks battles with conservatives and liberals, reducing its chances of passage.
Millions of dollars of tax revenue are at stake in a long-running dispute between Alabama and CSX. The decision could affect state tax systems nationwide.
Government has a big role to play as we work to develop an intelligent, multimodal transportation system.
The California city’s November election will shed light on whether Democrats can risk the political fallout of cutting a prized union benefit to protect basic city services.
While more than a dozen states are fighting the new federal rules to reduce carbon emissions, many officials fear that ignoring them would be far worse.
What happens in Memphis will reveal the power -- and limits -- of education reform.
Think the cost overruns on the Big Dig were bad? The hole just keeps getting deeper for the Boston area's transit agency.
Keith Parker took over one of the most beleaguered and least loved transit systems in America -- and almost instantly reversed its course.
American politics is a forest filled with intricate family trees, and many offices seem almost hereditary.
In an effort to offer residents cheaper fuel, Somerset, Ky., opened what’s likely the nation’s first city-run retail gas station this summer.
When a North Carolina mayor walked 273 miles to Washington, D.C., this summer, he was just the latest in a long line of politicians to take an attention-seeking stroll.
Nebraska tried something similar to Paul Ryan’s proposal for fighting poverty for a decade. There are lessons to be learned.
National groups are realizing that the best way to influence policy isn't necessarily in gridlocked Washington anymore.
About half of states admit to holding mentally ill patients in emergency rooms until beds become available in mental health facilities -- a practice Washington state ruled unconstitutional.
With backing by the NRA, making hunting a constitutionally protected right has become increasingly popular in the past decade. The latest battlegrounds are Alabama and Mississippi.
The politician has long been a lightning rod for Democrats. This fall, they think they have a chance to beat him.
A first-of-its-kind report finds that the most effective way to reduce public workers' health expenses isn't popular cost-cutting moves like wellness programs, which rarely produce significant savings.
Ballot measures in five states propose changes to early voting, voter registration and citizen-led initiatives.
Today's most innovative civic leaders are using technology to fulfill the promise of efficient and responsive local government.
It's about a lot more than salaries. We need to do a better job of comparing total costs, both across jurisdictions and across comparable jobs.
A few American communities are experimenting with participatory budgeting at the neighborhood level. Their experiences can help guide others interested in giving the idea a try.
Plus more public-sector management news you need to know.
Much of what drives premium prices is beyond government control, but a case can be made for certain state policies that seem to help minimize premium spikes.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
A new survey finds that pension funding levels across all states and major cities inched downward in 2013 and that cities are bearing a greater burden in their budgets than states.
A sovereignty measure on Arizona's ballot this November will let voters decide whether or not the state can forgo enforcing certain federal laws like Obamacare.
Many states are rethinking once-popular production incentives -- a contrast from California, which is offering more to protect one of its biggest industries.
After efforts to label genetically modified food have failed in most states, there’s reason to think things will go differently in November in Oregon and possibly Colorado.
A November ballot measure would limit the influence of lobbyists and corporations but also add time and flexibility to term limits.
Illinois has a record number of ballot measures this year -- nearly all of which Republicans say are designed to mobilize liberal voters to help Democrats maintain lockstep control over state government.
A startup emerging from academia wants to help cities get more value from publicly owned land.
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan's antipoverty plan may be worth considering.
Public-private partnerships are still relatively new for most U.S. states, but analysts anticipate they will become more common.
The Democratic Party is likely to gain a few seats after the GOP's big gains in 2010.
Rich people and corporations who keep money in foreign tax havens cost states $39.8 billion in 2011. Jack Lew says its time to stop them.
The number of gubernatorial elections that are too close to call has nearly doubled over the past few months.
The GOP has more seats in jeopardy since the party's big gains in 2010.
Voters in Massachusetts will decide in November whether to make paid sick time a required benefit for most workers after California became only the second state to do so Wednesday.
Years ago, the now-convicted politician seemed honest and straightforward.
Supporters say the measure would help combat the state's epidemic of painkiller abuse, but polls have fluctuated wildly, and opponents are seizing on a controversial video to question their true intentions.
See how each level of government employment has fared in recent months.
What happened to the VA can happen to any government institution. New leadership is just the first step on the road to reform.
As they deploy modern, data-driven tools for public-sector efficiency, today's government leaders are building on work that began many decades ago.
A new proposal could have bipartisan appeal because it places states in command of reform and offers broad flexibility.
A reading list of the most important measures, how voters cast their ballots and why they matter.
Ferguson police are the latest of more than 1,000 departments to wear body cameras, which are proven to reduce officers' use of force and citizens' complaints against cops.
Despite recent improvements in childhood obesity, the overall rate increased in six states last year and decreased in zero.
See where workers are working the longest hours
Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing a ballot measure he says will institutionalize fiscal responsibility and saving. The complicated amendment will be up to voters this fall.
Because things can get confusing.
All the public-sector management news you need to know.
Louisville, Philadelphia and Nashville are the first cities in a new program that will dedicate $3 million in technical assistance to help cities reduce poverty.
A new study uses gunshot-detection technology instead of police reports to track gun violence.
Oregonians will decide in November whether they want to join the 10 states that already issue a driver's card or license to undocumented immigrants.
Currently, 27 states have agreed to expand Medicaid -- the most recent being Pennsylvania.
Medicaid pays for most unintended pregnancies, spurring even some of the most conservative states to make long-term contraception that's proven to be cheaper and more effective than the pill more accessible for doctors and patients.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Pennsylvania got some of the conservative changes it asked for, but the plan approved by the federal government contains a number of departures.
Voter turnout for local elections has historically lagged but is getting worse, prompting officials to explore new ways to get people to the polls.
Some cities will get grant funding to test a method of problem solving designed by the charitable foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Two new studies question federal funding formulas for public assistance. Are some states getting shortchanged?
See income inequality data, as measured by the Gini index and a household income ratio.
States -- including California, where female prisoners were involuntarily sterilized as late as 2013 -- are figuring out how to compensate the victims.
With voter turnout at all-time lows in some places, the first president of Facebook is launching a tech startup to boost civic engagement.
Americans in general have become more partisan in recent years. But the Milwaukee schism is larger than in other places, and it’s getting bigger.
Cap and trade may be dead on Capitol Hill, but states could use it to meet new EPA targets for reducing power plants’ carbon emissions.
Larger metro areas experience some of the highest income inequality, and since the Great Recession, it’s only gotten worse. On Thursday, fast-food workers in 100 cities protested for higher wages.
In the early 1900s, Charles Mallory Hatfield was hired to cure California's drought.
States can eventually drop major portions of the health law if they plan to maintain the same level of coverage at the same cost to the federal government.
After struggling to restore millions of people's power in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey has become the first state with a “green” bank focused on energy resilience.
Governing and its sister publications are covering preparedness this month.
Lacking substantial state or federal support, local governments throughout the country are using natural disasters as a way to get their infrastructure, personnel and budgets better prepared for the next.
How a lot of money and a little luck brought one of the nation’s most dangerous neighborhoods back to life.
The state shows it’s possible to transform Medicaid with existing systems.
All states will inevitably have to find ways to reform how they pay for Medicaid services. Right now, that way is looking like accountable care organizations.
New York's top judge is the brain behind many ideas that have upended the court system nationwide including legal aid for the poor, drug courts and foreclosure protections.
Today's municipal workers have to cut the best deals they can, but nobody's looking out for tomorrow's workers.
Widespread and comprehensive gun control legislation has failed at the federal and state levels. While cities don’t have the authority to ban guns, they’ve gotten creative trying to control them.
U.S. cities traditionally develop relationships with foreign cities for diplomatic, cultural or educational purposes. But more and more are looking to them for economic development.
See charts and a few key takeaways on new data measuring how recently laid-off workers are faring across regions and industries.
Kevin Counihan led one of the most successful state-run health exchanges in the country.
In another setback for California's tough gun-control laws, a federal judge ruled Monday that the state can't require gun buyers to wait 10 days to pick up their newly purchased weapon if they already own a gun or have a license to possess a handgun.
Localities are forced to deal with much of the problems associated with fracking, while states and the federal government rake in all the revenue.
Can a model procurement agreement speed the adoption of cloud computing?
Many state and local agencies fail to properly oversee waiting lists for government programs.
Vertically inclined cities could make a lot of money allowing private developers to build high-rise apartments or business spaces above libraries, city halls and schools.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to fund state pilot projects that combine food assistance and job training in an effort to find the best way to get people out of poverty.
Many municipalities struggle to identify their uniqueness and instead try to market themselves for having things that you can find anywhere.
Even though airports and public transportation systems are in need of upgrades, all anyone ever talks about is roads and bridges.
While the final lineup of measures is still being sorted out, five broad themes are emerging.
As state legislatures' structures and salaries have changed, so have the type of people the political office attracts.
A new book provides a comprehensive picture of the performance-management practice that has taken the public sector by storm.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
As severe weather becomes more common, microgrids are gaining popularity as a way to keep the power on at critical facilities during widespread blackouts.
Some say Ferguson's increasing reliance on court fines to fund its municipal operations may have contributed to its residents' distrust in law enforcement and government.
In what resembled a presidential campaign speech, the recently indicted Texas governor called for increased federal controls against illegal immigration before Congress considers immigration reform.
Energy and sustainability expert Julia Burrows will lead the Washington, D.C.-based Governing Institute.
A new survey offers insight into the reasons government employees are increasingly putting off retirement.
Looking to maximize its water resources, California is finding that better management and efficiency are key.
In an unusual approach to boosting employee engagement, the state is bringing in the unions to solve problems earlier.
As gay Americans gained more acceptance and integrated themselves throughout cities over the past decade, a sociologist argues they've also lost some of their community and history.
See how each state's economy fared over the past month and year.
In a state with an economy and government reliant on diminishing oil revenue, voters will decide whether to repeal a law that's designed to spur oil development but help the at-times corrupt oil industry.
New tools that make it easy to find and view government financial data are enabling big gains in efficiency and transparency.
The chaos that erupted after a police officer shot an unarmed black teen showcases the need for strong leadership and how law enforcement can lead best in communities where life is already a daily struggle.
This map shows the predicted outcome of each gubernatorial election based on interviews with dozens of political observers and recent polling data. Click on each state or scroll down to learn more about the candidates.
Crowdsourcing, predictive analytics and other new tools could go far toward finding innovative solutions for America's food insecurity.
Partially because of its high cost, nearly half the states are restricting Medicaid patients' access to an effective new hepatitis C drug. Experts say there’s no question lawsuits will come.
Increasingly unable to rely on Washington, states are coming up with new ways to pay for roads. But there are some principles they need to keep in mind.
As the number of elderly inmates needing long-term care rises, some states are looking for alternatives beyond prison walls
Industrial development bonds historically have the highest default rate, but a bill in Congress would revamp them.
All the public-sector management news you need to know.
At Bridge Meadows, a special housing development in Portland, troubled foster children and elders live side by side.
A new report highlights a wide wage disparity across many regions. See data for your area.
