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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.

Americans turned to parks for physical and mental relief during the pandemic. New research by the Trust for Public Land explores connections between urban parks and health.
Nationally, nearly 900 unique titles had been targeted for bans during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year. Most bans target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, but some include books on history and art.
Despite steady gains, the LGBTQ+ community is severely underrepresented in elected office.
Researchers from Columbia University visited five states to see how they were using money from the American Rescue Plan to build their public health workforces. They found that politics might matter even more than dollars.
A few states have proposed or passed laws defining "male" and "female," and more such legislation may be coming. Critics say the definitions amount to erasure of those who choose gender identities different than the one they were given at birth.
Public support for the LGBTQ+ community has grown steadily for decades. But some state legislators are pushing back against changing attitudes.
A new report sheds light on mistakes, data gaps and dysfunctional organizational cultures that contributed to America suffering more loss of life than any other country in the world.
The business community is rallying around civic education. It’s partly a matter of civic duty and partly a matter of survival — and maybe economic prosperity.
An Indiana law establishing a middle school civic education requirement is the latest step in a multisector partnership that aims to help students get a better idea of what democracy is all about.
Data exchange between states, hospitals and the CDC increased temporarily during the pandemic. The public health community wants this to mark the turning point in achieving a permanent national system.