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The expansion of the Deferred Retirement Option Program will allow career government workers and educators to draw pensions while continuing to work for eight to 10 years but will cost the state an additional $350 million annually.
Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated Central Park Five, in his victory speech after winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 27, to represent a Harlem-based seat in the New York City Council. Salaam earned about 50 percent of the vote in his race. (Gothamist — June 27, 2023)
In The Three Ages of Water, Peter Gleick traces the history of a resource humans can’t do without. While there’s enough water to go around, he says, state and local leaders from both sides of the aisle need to act now on what we know.
Allowing greater building height hasn’t proved consistently successful for cities, and it's a fantasy that Washington's city center could ever resemble Paris’ stately boulevards. But perhaps it’s time to try some experimentation.
States have information that counties need to better target their resources and services to reduce overdose risk and save lives. Improving data sharing is a good use of opioid settlement funds.
According to the air monitoring website IQAir, the city had the worst air quality out of 95 cities worldwide on Tuesday, June 27. Alerts were issued for parts of the Great Lakes, Lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
Dispensaries across the state are preparing for an influx of customers, including some from out of state, as it will be legal for any individual 21 or older to buy vapes, gummies, pre-rolled joints and edibles starting this weekend.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, regarding the state’s billboard campaign that features images of LGBTQ couples in several states, such as Texas and Florida, to promote the commonwealth as “welcoming and a safe place for all.” The campaign comes at the end of Pride month, but also as a variety of states are enacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Healey is the nation’s first openly lesbian governor. (The Hill — June 27, 2023)
Kim Reynolds was relatively unknown when she served as lieutenant governor and even after becoming governor. She's since emerged as a powerhouse.
The costs of treating cancer are soaring, just at a time when some states are moving to save money by cutting Medicaid enrollment. It’s sure to worsen health-care inequality.
Rivas often presents himself as a humble, soft-spoken person, but many who know him see the balanced policy, pragmatism and calculations that have led him to one of the state’s top political offices.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that Alabama’s congressional map was a violation of the Voting Rights Act, and plaintiffs in two Florida court cases are optimistic that the ruling will set a precedent.
State lawmakers must develop a plan for dealing with a potential multibillion-dollar budget hole that stems from misuse of COVID-era funds for unemployment benefits. But some still believe there could be room for tax cuts.
Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, regarding the state’s new designation as a safe haven for trans youth, families and their health-care providers, as made law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday, June 25. The Human Rights Campaign estimates that more than 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced this year across state legislatures as of May, 70 of which have already been enacted. (Gothamist — June 25, 2023)
The city's transit agency is implementing a fare-capping system to prevent daily riders from paying more than weekly passholders. It's a trend that's slowly catching on.
Coastal preservation expert Simone Maloz weighs in on the 50-year plan to reverse decades of damage to the Mississippi Delta.
First appearing in leading newspapers more than a half-century ago, the leaked documents became the 47-volume Pentagon Papers. The handling of secret documents attract headlines and larger-than-life figures then and now.
The rollout of facial recognition technology in cities and states nationwide — as well as some overturned bans — could offer lessons on how to regulate other technologies that haven’t yet reached broad adoption.
Law enforcement officials agree that 911 response merits a more nuanced approach. But powerful police unions are against proposals that might reduce their control over 911 operations, and the budget and staff that go with them.
Hackers managed to break into CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two California retirement systems, and have stolen Social Security numbers, birth dates and other sensitive information for 769,000 retirees. The attack came from a breach in a contractor’s cybersecurity system.
The federal infrastructure dollars are available, but it’s unclear whether small-town water systems that need the money most will get help.
Maine’s ambitious broadband expansion is creating demand for more workers to hang fiber. Women are increasingly responding to the opportunity.
A new state law increases what SNAP applicants’ vehicles can be worth before they’re disqualified for federal food assistance. But most states don’t take car values into consideration at all.
Larry Underwood, a 73-year-old resident of Puxico, Mo., who lives near the Duck Creek Conservation Area, regarding the discovery of northern snakeheads, a invasive species of fish, in the area, creating concern that the hard-to-contain species could spread and become a problem. The fish reproduce quickly, have sharp teeth, can survive out of water for days and can grow to nearly 3 feet in length. Some people, including Underwood, are skeptical of the state’s abilities to contain the species, comparing the efforts to the state’s attempt to control feral hogs with little luck. (Associated Press — June 23, 2023)
Americans turned to parks for physical and mental relief during the pandemic. New research by the Trust for Public Land explores connections between urban parks and health.
A trip to the birthplace of the blues is also a visit to a region soaked in the history of bigotry and the struggle for civil rights. It’s a past that we need to acknowledge and that today’s students need to learn about.
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