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Ideas are now flowing down from Washington into the states, rather than the other way around.
44%
Share of U.S. employers who provide free snacks to workers...
Judge Anna Hamburg-Gal. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners had argued that the Illinois election code barred its employees from unionizing, but Hamburg-Gal argued that joining a union can be motivated by salary and other workplace concerns and was not necessarily political or partisan in nature.
The state agriculture department has banned the sale or purchase of English ivy, a fast-growing vine that can kill trees and harm native plants.
Most people are able to apply online but only about a third of those who call reach a live person. The number of call center employees has dropped by nearly 40 percent over the past two years.
There’s a reason so many local governments rely on the council-manager system: It balances democratic accountability with operational expertise.
Daniel Perez, the Florida Speaker, has been combatting the governor over various proposals and personal ambitions all year.
We need competent responders every hour of the day, every day of the week. But we often don’t have them.
The increase in state spending in Washington over the past dozen years...
Jennifer Pahlka, who served as U.S. deputy chief technology officer under President Barack Obama. The Trump administration is seeking ways to implement artificial intelligence to take over many functions currently performed by humans. For instance, the Pentagon is already using AI to help officers distinguish between combatants and civilians in military theaters. Many more applications, from tax audits to airport security, are expected. (Washington Post)
The city has a goal of hiring 4,000 more officers by 2029. Recruiting classes are starting to increase thanks to higher salaries and other expanded hiring efforts.
Although thought of as an urban problem, food deserts are most likely to occur in rural states, including places where crops are grown right down the road.
The nation’s warmest large city can’t turn down the temperature, but it is finding ways to address factors that make heat dangerous for residents.
James Hochman has resumed prosecuting even low-level crimes, but the number of felony charges hasn’t increased compared with his reform-minded predecessor’s count.
Size of a buyout offer for Maryland state employees. ...
Nicole Lee, a member of the Chicago Board of Aldermen. Lee suspects that the budget process will almost certainly include a property tax increase, given the city’s precarious finances. The city ended its last fiscal year with a deficit of $161 million, which led it to empty one of its emergency funds, something that didn’t happen even in the depths of the Great Recession in 2008. (Chicago Tribune)
Despite recent cutbacks to the insurance program, more states now pay for access to doulas, who provide support during pregnancy and childbirth.
With enrollment trending down, colleges are simplifying the process for students to get credit for skills they already have, which can save them both time and money.
Urban Democrats and state-level Republicans have long been at odds. Could what’s happening in Charlotte signal a ceasefire?
A transit agency’s social media strategy shows how to communicate a winning message.
Political experts see no upside for Texas Republicans in an effort Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday.
Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, declaring victory on one of his administration’s signature promises: cutting state regulatory requirements by 25 percent, six months ahead of schedule. State officials said the effort culminated in the streamlining or repeal of nearly 89,000 regulatory requirements and the elimination of 11.5 million words from official documents. The state’s Office of Regulatory Management pegged cost savings for Virginians at $1.2 billion annually. (Virginia Mercury)
Decrease in homicides across Los Angeles in the first half of this year...
Educators will not be allowed to use a model called “three-cue-ing” – which teaches kids to read using context clues – as their primary method of reading instruction.
But tariffs and deportations threaten economic damage in the Southeast United States.
A deal that would have raised billions for the state’s roads, bridges and transit imploded in the last days of the legislative session. The path forward isn’t clear, but layoff notices are already going out.
Downtowns have always evolved. A look at history shows they’ll never go away.
It’s a common complaint by executive branch managers: Lawmakers don’t always grasp the importance of providing resources for more efficient use of tax dollars down the road.
The state asked the high court to lift a lower-court judge’s temporary block on enforcement of the law, which makes it illegal for an undocumented immigrant to enter or re-enter Florida.
Nitrate pollution is likely to force more water-use restrictions. Iowa’s problems are uniquely severe: It has plenty of water, but bans on car washing and lawn watering underscore the state’s long struggle with high nitrate levels.