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Zach Patton

Executive Editor

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism for his GOVERNING story on economic cutbacks in Colorado Springs. He has served as an editor since 2010, and as Executive Editor since 2012.

Archive
Democrat Northam Builds Big Money Advantage as Virginia Governor's Race Enters Final Stretch
Most polls show Ralph Northam slightly ahead in what appears to be a relatively close race.
October 18, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
Chasing Millions In Medicaid Dollars, Hospitals Buy Up Nursing Homes
Thanks to a unique funding process, hospitals in some states are acquiring nursing homes to help cover other costs.
October 18, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
Arizona Again Tries to Illegally Import Execution Drug
The Arizona Department of Corrections paid nearly $27,000 to import from overseas an illegal drug for executions by lethal injection, but federal officials stopped the shipment at the airport.
October 18, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
LAPD Becomes Nation's Largest Police Department to Test Drones
After months of often-heated debate, a civilian oversight panel has signed off on a controversial yearlong test of the technology.
October 18, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
In Surprise Move, Lexington, Ky., Removes Controversial Confederate Statues
The city of Lexington, Ky., carried out a surprise removal of two controversial Confederate statues from the lawn of the former Fayette County courthouse early Tuesday evening.
October 18, 2017
 · Zach Patton
stethoscope money
Archive
States' Answer to Rising Health-Care Costs for Employees? You Pay for It.
Governments in recent years have shifted more and more of the burden of health-care premiums on to employees themselves.
October 17, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
Nashville Mayor Unveils Sweeping $5.2 Billion Transit Proposal
The new system, which includes light rail and a tunnel below the city's downtown, would be the most expensive project in Nashville history.
October 17, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Who Said That
I was dead-serious. I would not make a joke about a rabbit if I did not believe it to be true.
Phoenixville, Pa., mayoral candidate Dave Gautreau, apologizing for his proposal during a recent forum that the borough's police department acquire drug-sniffing bunnies as a less-costly alternative to a K-9 team. Gautreau said he'd gotten the idea from the town of Lancaster, but the story about Lancaster's rabbit squad turned out to have been an April Fool's Day post on Facebook.
October 17, 2017
 · Zach Patton
News in Numbers
10 hours
Amount of time some victims of Hurricane Irma have had to wait in line for food-stamp benefits from the state Department of Children and Families. Tens of thousands of people across the state -- including 50,000 at one site alone -- have camped out for hours, often in hot temperatures, in the past week, overwhelming state workers.
October 17, 2017
 · Zach Patton
Archive
Did Legal Marijuana Really Reduce Opioid Deaths? Colorado Officials Are Skeptical
The start of legal marijuana sales in Colorado may have reversed a rising trend of prescription opioid overdose deaths in the state, a new study set to be published next month concludes.
October 17, 2017
 · Zach Patton
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