Whether they're ready for it or not, San Diego County's 18 municipalities and 135 separate jurisdictions are heading toward greater regional cooperation.

Last year, Hurricane Floyd caused massive destruction and more than 50 deaths in Eastern North Carolina. Sections of highways and bridges were washed away. Homes were destroyed.

When the New Jersey Turnpike flipped on the switch for E-ZPass this fall, it made cashless travel possible on toll roads from Boston to Philadelphia. It also ushered in the largest experiment yet with tolls that vary by time of day.

Chicago milks creative street displays for all they're worth.

Last spring's passage of a civil-unions law in Vermont, which grants homosexual couples the same rights as married heterosexuals, has pitted neighbor against neighbor in a bitter and widely publicized battle. But from an economic perspective, the political struggle may have its positive side.