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Our regions may be entering a new era in which they simply try to maintain what they have, or manage their decline. It’s going be harder for urban and suburban leaders to rise to the top by attracting new major corporate tenants.
The state has signaled its support for allocating an additional $70 million to Gov. Tina Kotek’s initial request of $130 million in emergency funds to help move residents off the streets and keep them housed.
Women across the state earned just 88 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2021, which, over a 40-year career, amounts to more than $350,000 in diminished earnings. The gap is larger for women of color.
Large banks are assuring their customers that the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York aren’t likely to affect the average resident as Maine banks don’t have much reliance on venture capital or cryptocurrency clients.
Nebraska state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, regarding her three-week filibuster in opposition to a bill that would outlaw gender-affirming therapies for those 18 and younger. When the bill advanced out of committee, Cavanaugh promised to filibuster every bill that comes before the Legislature this year — even the ones she supports. March 15 is the halfway point of this year’s 90-day session and not a single bill has passed due to Cavanaugh’s filibustering; since she began her blockade, only three bills have advanced from the first of three rounds of debate required to pass a bill in Nebraska. (Associated Press — March 14, 2023)
Missouri's Legislature has a plan to take over the police force in St. Louis. It's just one example of states taking direct control of public safety in their largest cities.
A tale of two trains: When something bad happens, local and state officials increasingly are shouldered aside. The people and the pundits now expect all solutions to come from Washington.
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Modernizing child welfare case management technologies can help agencies ease their staff burdens while transforming vital public services.
Research has found that computer models can predict the likely fate of proposed legislative amendments and the most effective pathways for lobbyists. This technology mixed with micro-legislation could muddle transparency.
The vote will determine whether Madison, Ala., should transition from a mayor-council format to a council-manager format, which is unusual for the state. If approved, the city will have until 2025 to make the transition.
Proposed legislation would abolish less than minimum wages for people with disabilities by August 2025. Minnesota has the third highest number of workers earning subminimum wages in the nation.
The office of Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, regarding controversial comments from McNally’s Instagram account with a young man who was posting nearly naked pictures on the social media platform. In one instance, McNally’s account commented on a revealing picture of the 20-year-old with heart and fire emojis; in another, the young man appears to not be wearing underwear, and McNally's account posted a comment saying, “great picture! Best wishes for continued health and happiness.” McNally has issued an apology, stating that he did not intend to embarrass his friends, family or members of the Legislature. (The Hill — March 14, 2023)
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority recently scaled back a voter-approved plan to add new transit lines, citing cost increases. Leaders worry that delays could further erode support for transit.
Twenty-seven states allow capital punishment, but public support for it has declined over the decades. Fifty-five percent of Americans support the death penalty for convicted murderers, the second-lowest support since 1972.
Remote work presents myriad fiscal challenges to cities as well as employers. Business tax incentives are also in peril. Are “15-minute cities” the ultimate remedy?
The state is among a handful of Republican-leaning states that have pulled out of the national system designed to improve voting roll accuracy known as ERIC. Many are skeptical that Missouri’s next efforts will be as efficient.
Census data predicts that by 2032, America will have more people ages 65 and older than it will have people who are 18 and younger. As the nation’s population ages, many predict that “age tech” will continue to boom.
Though the Auditor of State hasn’t identified any government in Ohio that is improperly spending its pandemic funds, debates have sparked about whether the funds can be appropriately used on things like a new jail or improved baseball stadium.
The Mackinac Island Ferry Co., formerly known as Star Line, will replace two diesel engines with electric propulsion motors on its Chippewa vessel, then will transition the rest of its seven steel vessels to all-electric.
Ten-year-old Fabian Aguirre, a student at V.H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition, regarding the challenge that it can be to learn while hungry. All students at Fabian’s Phoenix-area school are eligible to receive free meals. More than 34 million people, including 9 million children, across the country are food insecure. (Associated Press — March 11, 2023)
Pandemic assistance to families at risk of food insecurity has ended. As a “hunger cliff” looms, programs in public libraries can fill gaps.
Focusing just a small fraction of our economic development resources on supporting entrepreneurs can benefit all communities. And it’s good politics.
The idea of secession did not originate with Marjorie Taylor Greene. It has been tried before. The question we need to ask is whether we are really ready to see what a Red and Blue America would look and act like.
Before 2020, they seldom voted against certifying results. But in 2022, conservative officials in North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico refused to do so.
The plans have a strong financial incentive to keep their members enrolled because states pay them per member, per month: The more people they cover, the more money they get.
Urban areas grew in 36 states. The New York-Jersey City-Newark urban area is the nation’s most populous with 19.4 million residents followed by the 12.2 million in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area.
A $1.2 million study found that the state should offer 4 percent merit-based raises to make salaries more competitive. Instead, lawmakers approved select raises, including an 11 percent increase for Raúl Labrador’s office.
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