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Preliminary data suggests that accidental drug overdose deaths decreased from 2020 to 2021, but it is unclear if the drop is due to the city’s response programs. In many ways COVID-19 has made help more accessible.
Fully autonomous robots that can act as a security guard, tour guide and information center may soon debut in theme parks across Orlando. But some worry about the robots’ impact on employment and security.
Dr. Paul Hsu, an epidemiologist at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, regarding the increase in diabetes deaths over the last two years, with more than 100,000 Americans dying from diabetes in both 2020 and 2021. About 11 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes. (Reuters — Jan. 31, 2022)
The amount that California’s bottle recycling program has in surplus after the department amended a previous underestimation by $100 million. Recycling centers have closed in mass over recent years and only about 68 percent of bottles and cans in California are recycled today, compared to 85 percent in 2013.
The state has more than 3,000 bridges in poor repair. Federal funds will provide significant support for tackling the problem, but Pennsylvania’s transportation and transit woes run deep.
The U.S. no longer leads the world in all areas of science, the National Science Foundation says, and many states have low concentrations of STEM workers.
As 2022 begins, the omicron variant is proof that the pandemic is still far from over and remains politicized. More than 90 percent of Democratic adults have received at least one vaccination, compared with 60 percent of Republicans.
Deindustrialized regions, smaller towns and rural areas don’t have the resources prosperous metros have to go after the new federal money. We need to focus on closing ever-widening opportunity gaps.
Virginia’s first Hispanic American attorney general calls for respect for the law and differences of opinion, and cutting back on how much cable news we watch.
Since the surge began in December, some smaller law enforcement agencies have been forced to increase overtime, reduce services and reroute non-emergency calls to online portals.
The nation is pivoting towards electric vehicles as a more climate-friendly alternative to gas-powered vehicles. Some worry about the chance that in the future millions of EV batteries will end up in a landfill.
With elections on their minds, governors’ most watched policy speech of the year had some technology highlights, like luring tech companies and remote workers with robust broadband.
State legislators from both sides of the aisle have voted to table the proposed bill that aims to make the state a hub of hydrogen energy. Gov. Lujan Grisham worries that, without the bill, the state may miss its climate goals.
With more electric vehicles on the road in the coming future, state officials worry how they will build and maintain roads with fewer drivers buying into the gas tax. Some are considering fees per mile driven.
The Ohio city’s police dispatchers union has filed an unfair labor practice charge regarding a recent installation of a camera in the dispatch center’s work area, which the union compares to a “spy camera.”
Arizona state Rep. John Fillmore, regarding his proposed 35-page bill that would rewrite the state’s election laws. His bill would require ballots for future elections be counted by hand, require specific excuses for early voting and prohibit counties from setting up Election Day voting centers where anyone can cast a ballot. Fillmore said he was not suggesting a return to the way things were prior to the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. (Daily Independent — Jan. 26, 2022)
The annual salary that Mayor Eric Adams can give to his brother as senior security adviser, as agreed upon by a New York City ethics panel. Adams had initially said he would hire his brother, Bernard, as deputy police commissioner with a yearly salary of $240,000.
A functioning administrative state is necessary for democracy to work. Weaponizing administrative functions invites ineffectiveness and a cycle of retribution.
The federal infrastructure bill’s passage renewed hopes that Texas would finally get a coastal storm barrier. But Galveston and Houston could still get hit by a hurricane before it is built.
It's an election year, so expect to see legislative action on all things relating to education. Meanwhile, government and business will be competing for talent in a labor market tighter than it’s been for a generation.
The Washington state Supreme Court will consider whether enforcing fares on public transit systems violates passengers’ rights. If upheld, the court’s ruling could have statewide ramifications.
The city joins every county in the state as it signed the billion-dollar deal just ahead of the deadline, following months of pushback. The money will fund treatment services, medicine distribution and educational outreach.
With 44 percent of state residents living in a child-care desert, there aren’t enough options. Child care for two children uses 27 percent of a family’s income. The Tri-Share program aims to reduce those obstacles.
Art Spiegelman, author of the graphic novel “Maus,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, commenting on the McMinn County, Tenn., School Board’s decision to remove “Maus” from its curriculum due to “inappropriate language” and an image of a nude woman-mouse. The graphic novel depicts the story of his Jewish parents living in Poland in the 1940s and their experiences as a Holocaust survivor. In the novel, Jews are drawn as mice and Nazis are drawn as cats. (Associated Press — Jan. 27, 2022)
The nation’s gross domestic product growth last year as it rebounded from the 2020, pandemic-induced recession, the largest increase since 1984.
From 1890-1930, they exploded across the American landscape, offering people the chance to own a home just outside the city. Lack of government support curtailed their growth, but these historic neighborhoods serve as models for efficient urban planning.
State lawmakers should be thinking about how to go on one-time spending sprees — such as funding infrastructure projects, including broadband, largely underwritten by the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill.
For decades, American vehicles have been growing heavier and taller. They are also deadlier, killing more pedestrians in the past 10 years. Better regulations and traffic calming can help. But the pace of change is slow.
After a payment issue nearly shut off power to the Buckfield Fire Station, legislators are considering a ban on disconnecting utilities for public safety buildings without a 60-day warning first.
34 community and 40 non-community systems are producing drinking water with high levels of the PFAS contaminants, impacting thousands of state residents. N.J. is the first state to set strict standards for PFAS.
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