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Robert Mellion, the executive director of the Massachusetts Package Store Association, suggesting a deposit system for 50- to 100-milliliter alcohol bottles as a way for the state to incentivize properly disposing of the bottles. Boston has proposed a citywide ban on the bottles to address both alcohol abuse and excessive litter. (Associated Press — April 6, 2023)
A $70 million effort is trying to put a third party on the 2024 presidential ballot. Meanwhile Democrats present a short target list, crime doesn't pay and more.
Everyone in the criminal justice system — sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, parole boards — has enormous discretion. Some lawmakers believe that authority is now being abused.
Population loss creates a challenging fiscal environment for local governments. But there’s no good reason for places to be struggling while tens of millions of people want to move to the U.S.
Thousands of local officials arrived in Washington last week for the National League of Cities’ annual Congressional City Conference, including a lone city councilman from South Dakota.
A charter amendment that was approved by voters in 2020 will restore financial control to the 15-member council, allowing them to reallocate funds without mayoral approval. The last time the council had this power was in 1898.
Currently, the state’s Medicaid coverage only covers two months after childbirth. But a bill would extend coverage for a full 12 months postpartum. In 2021, 23 percent of women ages 19-64 were uninsured in the state.
Mayor Elaine O’Neal, City Manager Wanda Page, City Attorney Kimberly Rehberg and Police Chief Patrice Andrews share how they came to lead the North Carolina city.
John Fea, a historian at Messiah University, regarding the comparisons that some Christians have been making between the indictment against Trump and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (Associated Press — April 5, 2023)
The state's lawmakers adopted a broad-based package of housing reforms in a fast-moving legislative session. But a provision that bans local rent control has angered tenant advocates.
Pledging greater efficiency, lots of governors (and candidates for the job) want to reorganize their states’ administrative structures. Sometimes they pull it off, but usually the reforms don’t last.
The bill will require physicians to provide care to infants “born alive” during abortion procedures and then report data to the state. The bill has enough support to override a governor’s veto.
Starting in September, the state will end the controversial practice of paying for remote state government employees’ travel to mandatory meetings. It’s unclear if the decision will impact pre-pandemic work policies.
Many of the agricultural workers in Pajaro, Calif., are not fluent in English or Spanish and so relied on interpreters to get proper assistance and services after a levee broke, flooding the farm town and sparking evacuations.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, regarding the April 4 election that will determine one seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court that could switch the court’s majority in favor of the liberals. The race is the most expensive in state supreme court race history, with spending tripling an old national record, topping at an estimated $45 million. (NPR — April 4, 2023)
In a new report, the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute shows that civic infrastructure affects how long and how well we live.
A radical planning idea that is well-known in Spain is taking root in Africa and South America.
The amount that fire victims receive after taxes and attorney fees is sometimes as little as just 25 percent of the original award. A state bill would allow victims to subtract wildfire settlements from their taxable income.
Between the 1999-2000 and 2015-2016 school years, the number of school librarians decreased 19 percent and, in some states, many schools don’t employ librarians, either full or part time.
Legislation in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget would mandate a new model for real property value appraisal of renewable energy projects that would negatively impact local municipal revenue.
There were 17.9 million drivers in the state as of February, but as of March 9, the state’s digital driver’s license app had been downloaded 154,631 times. The state contractor has been paid nearly all of the $1.8 million contract.
Larry White, a self-described Republican conservative, regarding how the indictment of former President Donald Trump has influenced him to switch his presidential nomination vote from Ron DeSantis to Trump. Many Republicans who were willing to vote for another Republican candidate have changed their minds since the news of the indictment and are now looking to support Trump in 2024. (Reuters — April 3, 2023)
A complex web of factors impacts the health of these important water sources.
Governments are struggling with high vacancy rates. Rather than trying to return to the pre-pandemic world, they should rethink how workers do their jobs to foster job satisfaction and more capable performance, an expert argues.
New research points to the policy and market conditions that help spread these small rental units which can be added to existing properties and ease housing shortages.
A statue long considered a Renaissance masterpiece in Florence (and the world over) has now been deemed pornographic in Florida. Such a stark contrast in points of view — here or there — has a long history.
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