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On-the-job training can serve as one way for states and localities to meet ongoing public- and private-sector labor shortages.
High-profile departures of senior-level executives reflect not only an aging workforce and a more politicized operating environment but also salaries and benefits that need to be competitive with the private sector’s.
Despite job gains moving at their slowest pace since 2011 and extreme stress in commercial real estate, Colorado managed to stave off a recession this year. Many are wondering whether it can keep an economic downturn at bay again next year.
A U.S. district judge has scolded the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for ignoring complaints of maltreatment and horrible living conditions for foster children with intellectual disabilities.
A New Orleans power utility wants customers to pay for the $750 million to $1 billion price tag, which could raise bills an additional $11.86 per month. But the city has pushed back saying there must be an affordable option for ratepayers.
A new survey found that only about 5 percent of Texans currently drive an electric vehicle and, of those who don’t currently own or lease an EV, about 60 percent said they probably wouldn’t consider one in the future either.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, regarding its decision to stop its experimental feeding program for starving manatees as the seagrass, upon which manatees depend, has started to recover in key winter foraging areas on the state’s east coast and fewer manatees appear to be in poor physical condition headed into the winter season. More than 400,000 pounds of lettuce was fed to the manatees near Cocoa, Fl., last year as part of the two-year program. (Associated Press — Dec. 5, 2023)
Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C., are using bus-mounted cameras with AI technology to better enforce parking violations, hoping to clear transit lanes of vehicles and make public transit faster and safer.
It’s happening in red and blue states alike: Policymakers and civil servants are increasingly relying on evidence to transform how taxpayer dollars are spent.
Investing in poor neighborhoods or dispersing the poor citywide each have their proponents. But place-based strategies — improving neighborhoods — may be our only feasible option.
In 2021, the state’s surplus was $3.7 billion and a year later it had grown by nearly another $3 billion. Now with $16 billion reserved, it’s likely that increased spending will occur in next year’s session.
More than 12,000 state residents who applied or attempted to recertify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, are still awaiting for their benefits to be processed months later.
Election offices in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington received powder-filled letters around the November election. But states and workers are increasing efforts to protect democratic elections amid continued risk.
Richmond, Va., Mayor Levar Stoney, regarding why he has decided to run for Virginia governor in 2025. Stoney announced his campaign in a video released on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. (Associated Press — Dec. 4, 2023)
Planting trees along small streams is a simple idea with big consequences for watersheds.
Is your law enforcement agency accredited? Probably not, but it ought to be.
Mary Otts-Rubenstein, who has her own child with disabilities, is helping migrant families with medically complex children enroll in Chicago’s Public Schools. But it doesn’t get easier once the kids are enrolled because the system is overwhelmed.
Just a few years ago, the California city was winning acclaim as a national model for gun violence prevention. Last year, a regional trauma center treated 502 gunshot victims, compared to just 283 in 2019.
The state has dropped more than 130,000 of its 500,000 Medicaid beneficiaries since April and about 30 percent of those disenrolled were left uninsured, which could be a bad sign for the rest of the nation.
The state executed four people this year, while Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama executed a total of 20 others. Forty states have abolished the death penalty, paused executions or have not executed anyone in the past 10 years.
Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), regarding the fact that, for decades, anti-Arab violence was omitted from hate crime data. According to the AAI, the FBI quietly removed the category from the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 1992 and it remained missing until it was reintroduced in the 2015 report. While several states continued to track anti-Arab hate crimes separately from other groups, when that data was submitted to the federal database the numbers were added to the catchall category “anti-other ethnicity/national origin” bias incidents. (NPR — Dec. 1, 2023)
The National League of Cities has created a task force to make presidential candidates aware of local concerns — and to forge relationships with officials who'll move from the campaign into the next administration.
Future in Context
A recap of 2023's pivotal trends in gov tech: transportation transitions, cybersecurity challenges and strides in digital inclusivity.
The City Council voted unanimously to equip about 810 sworn police officers with body cameras next year, making a summertime pilot program permanent. However only 297 of the patrol officers will be required to wear them routinely.
A quarter mile of the road on 14th Street in the city’s downtown area will have the capability to charge electric vehicles that are equipped for such technology. The development will cost $1.9 million.
An audit of the county’s new system found lax oversight of raises and more than $3 million in overpayments to employees, which could take decades to fully reimburse.
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