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The video of the beating of Tyre Nichols by police officers has, once again, sparked calls for Congress to address law enforcement violence, but the Republican majority has not yet shown signs of prioritizing a policing overhaul this session.
The state implemented its confidential hotline in hopes to combat misinformation and confusion about abortion bans and restrictions. More than 150 lawyers will provide free legal advice.
The state’s $35 million initiative, Good Jobs Hawai’i, hopes to support 3,000 state residents with their career advancement in health care, technology, clean energy, skilled trades and creative industries.
Joel Reynolds, western director and senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) veto of a proposed copper and gold mine in a remote region in southwest Alaska that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. This is only the 14th time in the roughly 50-year history of the federal Clean Water Act that the EPA has flexed its power to block or restrict activities over impacts to waters, including fisheries. (Associated Press — Jan. 31, 2023)
The office recession is real, with downtowns in major cities still missing a majority of their pre-pandemic workforce. San Francisco offers a case study in terms of the consequences.
If a congressional debt ceiling deadlock persists and capital markets seize up, states and localities will still have to pay their bills. Public financiers need to be ready to adjust their portfolios to establish a liquid cash buffer.
Tyre Nichols was killed by Memphis police officers who were members of the now-disbanded anti-gun unit. New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the beating but defended own anti-gun unit.
Three years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, those in the Cleveland area are still uncertain about where employers will require their workers to be: in office, at home or a hybrid of the two.
The Alaska governor introduced two bills that would create a regulatory framework for geologic storage of carbon dioxide and for selling carbon offset credits, and could earn billions for the state. Many details are still unclear.
A new poll found that voter confidence across the state has increased and about 73 percent of registered voters said they were very or somewhat confident that November’s general election was fair and accurate.
Last year, the state’s top 200 political donors shelled out nearly $16 million to statewide and legislative races while the 206,000 people who spent $250 or less gave a collective $13.5 million in donations.
Stephen Murray, an overdose survivor and former paramedic who now researches overdoses at Boston Medical Center, regarding his belief that naloxone, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, should be more widely available to help prevent overdose deaths. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found in 2021 that 40 percent of overdose deaths happen when someone else is present and possibly able to administer the life-saving drug. (Associated Press — Jan. 29)
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is backing a return of rent control, decades after it was banned in a state referendum. But disappointment among tenant activists raises questions about what rent control is supposed to achieve.
Restrictive codes can severely limit housing development, but a new survey of mayors finds that few take them into account in their plans to address homelessness.
What do you do when you feel trapped by family lineage? Prince Harry of Britain chose a scorched earth approach. A century ago, a sharp-tongued daughter of American royalty known as Princess Alice blazed a different path.
There's no question that a responsive, innovative government is more critical than ever. Here are some issues that are top of mind for state and local technology leaders as we take on the new year.
The urban park was designed to connect residents and improve quality of life but has increased housing costs and pushed out low-income households. Amid a national housing crisis, the U.S. must now learn from Atlanta's experience.
The number of deaths on the state’s roads last year was the highest in more than 30 years. There is bipartisan support for legislation to increase Washington’s road safety and lower the blood alcohol limit.
State Sen. Barry Finegold used the artificial technology software to draft a bill that would regulate generative AI models and would require companies to obtain “informed consent” from individuals before using, collecting or disclosing their data.
The California county has terminated its use of Dominion Voting Systems over widely debunked claims of mass voter fraud. The state only has three voting systems it allows its counties to use and it is unclear which one Shasta will select.
State lawmakers from the Connecticut Reproductive Rights Caucus in 2023 have introduced several bills that would increase funding, protection and access to reproductive care for residents and out-of-state travelers.
GLAAD’s Tony Morrison, regarding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed guidance to ease restrictions around blood donations by men who have sex with men. The restrictions were set in place in the early days of the AIDS epidemic to protect the blood supply from HIV; the new policy would eliminate time-based restrictions on men who have sex with men (and their female partners) and instead assess potential donors’ eligibility based on a risk assessment. (NPR — Jan. 27, 2023)
Food-related businesses are especially accessible for aspiring entrepreneurs, but there aren’t nearly enough shared-use food facilities. Supporting and promoting them is an opportunity for local governments.
The state government used more than half a million dollars of its $6.24 billion in COVID relief funds to buy SUVs to transport Gov. Phil Murphy and other officials around the state. Here’s how the rest of the money was spent.
The state is the nation’s fourth-largest producer of marketed natural gas, but it powered just 4 percent of the state’s net electricity generation in 2021. The legislation would designate suitable sites for natural gas electric generation projects.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s wide-ranging and controversial initiative deploys thousands of state authorities to apprehend and jail migrants along parts of the Rio Grande and is costing far more than has ever been spent on border security in a budget cycle.
Due to the state Legislature’s rush to fix an oversight in a previously passed property tax reform package, the property tax rollback rate is higher than it should be, which could mean relief for taxpayers and millions less for localities.
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