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Congress responded to the COVID crisis by allocating unprecedented sums to help cities and states recover. Early data about how they are using the money suggests that big spends can have complications.
Recent investment losses have highlighted provisions that are missing from most municipal money management contracts: full disclosure of the downside and stronger risk controls.
Cities have been struggling with the question for decades. Some are welcoming the murals and other street painting they used to deplore. Others call it vandalism and are erasing it.
Confronting their harsh legacy, the United States has taken steps to establish a Native American Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It’s a move that’s long overdue.
Efforts like reducing carbon emissions are important to fight climate change, but cities should also be looking at how they can reinforce roads, stabilize electric grids and use new technologies to build resilient communities.
Frances Haugen, Timnit Gebru and Janneke Parrish are at the forefront of a group of high-profile women calling out big tech. Is there a connection between their gender and their role as whistleblowers?
While new leadership and a quick economic rebound have allowed the state’s Employment Department to better address new claims and phone calls, the agency still has outstanding issues to be resolved.
The state Senate passed legislation on June 16 that would implement a five-year moratorium on construction of new prisons and jails across the state. The state has the lowest incarceration rate in the nation.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and other city council members have lauded the maps for their independence and transparency. The new districts will go into effect for the May 2023 city elections.
Due to a mail error, ballots that were postmarked prior to election day arrived the day after an Iowa county primary and were not counted in the final tally due to the state’s new law. The county supervisor race was determined by seven votes.
Arizona state Sen. Vince Leach, commenting on drag shows and the negative impacts, he believes, that these shows can have on children. Leach is one of just several Republican lawmakers across the nation who are trying to ban minors from drag shows. (NPR — June 16, 2022)
The proportion of Americans who support forgiving up to $10,000 of a person’s federal student loan debt, according to a recent poll. The poll also found...
Now a federal holiday, its roots are based in local, grass-roots celebrations dating back to the Civil War. Once nearly forgotten, the rebirth of Juneteenth speaks to America’s ongoing struggle for racial equality.
If voters approve the measure in November, it would raise county sales tax by one-half of 1 percent for 40 years and fund dozens of transportation projects. But critics are concerned that it could risk the region’s climate goals.
The state’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology discussed allowing state politicians to accept digital currency donations. No formal decisions were made.
In 2019, the New York State Industries for the Disabled helped employ 5,293 workers with a disability. Yet, the state ranked 43rd out of the 50 states for residents with a disability who were employed.
In a June 14 special election, Mayra Flores helped flip a longtime Democratic stronghold and became the first congresswoman-elect to be born in Mexico. The Republican will fill the remainder of Rep. Filemon Vela’s term.
Connecticut state Rep. Anthony Nolan, who is Black, arguing in favor of making Juneteenth a paid holiday in the state for its major significance in American and Black history. Despite Congress and President Biden making Juneteenth a federal holiday last year, the move didn’t automate adoption in all states. (NPR — June 15, 2022)
The street vendors who sell food to downtown customers are a boon to urban life. Cities ought to have more of them.
Starting in the 1990s, many cities have come back, growing in population while reducing sky-high rates of crime. A. K. Sandoval-Strausz talks about the overlooked impact of Latino immigrants on their rebirth.
The U.S. is losing 36 million trees every year. Several organizations have stepped up with creative solutions to save the wood, reduce carbon emissions and create jobs.
In one of the state’s most hotly-contested races, Republican Nancy Mace has won the primary race to represent the 1st Congressional District, beating Trump-backed Katie Arrington. Mace will face Annie Andrews in November.
The ballot measure would have asked voters if app-based drivers should be considered employees or independent contractors. The judges said the petition was “vaguely worded.”
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hid hospital ratings on surgical complications from public view for the first half of 2020 due to COVID-19 and proposed to continue the practice for data through mid-2021.
A Livermore-based company hopes to implement fleets of driver-optional, electric tractors to farms and vineyards by the end of this year. But critics say the company has yet to prove its autonomous tractors are safe enough for use.
New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, regarding the Republican-led Otero County Commission’s refusal to certify the June 7 primary election results due to distrust in the vote-counting machines. State law allows county canvass boards to call on a voting precinct board to address specific voting discrepancies, but the Otero commission has not identified any discrepancies. Toulouse Oliver has accused the commission of willful violations of the state election code. (Associated Press — June 15, 2022)
The number of customers’ water taps that lost pressure or went completely dry in Odessa, Texas, after a...
Local governments are eyeing spaceports as a way to boost economic development within their regions. But environmentalists are concerned about the ports' impacts on sensitive habitats, public safety and drinking water.
With billions of broadband infrastructure dollars at stake, states have to ensure that digital equity programs are sustainable long after federal money has been spent. Here’s how they can do it.
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