Top state police officials have downloaded encryption applications on their state-issued phones which keep no record of deleted text messages. Some are concerned that these practices break the Freedom of Information Act.
By Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press | January 22, 2021
The Legal Aid Society has denounced the district attorney’s use of Clearview AI, the surveillance database, and has demanded the D.A. disclose how his office has used and is using the technology.
By Frank Donnelly, Staten Island Advance | January 22, 2021
The current bus terminal will be replaced with a commuter hub that will hold 40 percent more passengers and charging stations for an all-electric bus fleet. The project could cost up to $10 billion and will be completed by 2030.
By Clayton Guse, New York Daily News | January 22, 2021
States and localities tried for years to figure out ways to tax online sales, without success. The Supreme Court gave them a green light in 2018, which has proven key to surviving the pandemic financially.
By Alan Greenblatt, Senior Staff Writer | January 22, 2021
Hispanics are almost 19 percent of the U.S. population, but account for only 6 percent of state legislators. Thirteen percent of these officials are Republicans.
By Carl Smith, Senior Staff Writer | January 22, 2020
A new book by a founding member of Boston’s Urban Mechanics calls for changing how government addresses its problems and provides an operating manual for generating new ideas and putting them into practice.
By Dustin Haisler, Futures and Innovation Editor | January 22, 2021
In November, officials estimated a budget shortfall of $86 million, but it turns out the actual numbers are much worse. Now the city must find areas to cut spending to adjust for the 10 percent gap.
By David Garrick, The San Diego Union-Tribune | January 21, 2021
Vaccines arrived more than a month before the state’s immunization system was ready, forcing health-care providers to create makeshift systems to record patient data that required hours of administrative work.
By Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times | January 21, 2021
Distributed power remains critical in the face of governance crises and federal assaults on liberal democracy. States and localities provide a sturdy popular base for modeling better policy outcomes.
By Gerald Benjamin and Scott Minkoff, SUNY New Paltz | January 21, 2021
One of the first actions of the Biden Administration will be the proposed U.S. Citizenship Act, which would provide an 8-year road map to citizenship for approximately 11 million immigrants currently in the U.S.
By Andrea Castillo and Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times | January 20, 2021
Public transit authorities will split the federal funds, which will be used to maintain service line operations as well as avoid worker layoffs. Ridership has dropped significantly since the pandemic started.
By Caitlin Johnston, Tampa Bay Times | January 20, 2021