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Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

Nineteen states raised their minimum wage in January. Almost as many are keeping it at the federal level of $7.25 set in 2009.
A first-of-its-kind lawsuit from the city of San Francisco seeks to end advertising that misleads consumers about the health impacts of highly processed foods. The city attorney spoke with Governing about the suit.
AI investment is driving the economy, and states want a share. Here’s a look at where the data centers that do the work of AI are located.
A district at the edge of the Mojave Desert is part of a network of California schools harvesting environmental, behavioral and academic benefits from a school forest.
Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage if Congress does not renew ACA subsidies.
AI companies can’t grow at speed without electricity to power their data centers. A new report argues that this isn’t just a matter of adding more power plants.
The bill is coming due after years of underinvestment in water infrastructure. New research highlights needs in each state and the economic benefits from meeting them.
A recycling project in Santa Monica, Calif., is helping the city move away from dependence on imported water.
People outside of government aren’t the only ones who could benefit from a better understanding of election processes.
How one organization in Pasadena, Calif., is mobilizing amid a shortage of federal food aid during the government shutdown.