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19 countries’ leaders at the global climate summit have pledged to create zero-emission shipping routes to reduce industry pollution while 103 cargo ships continue to idle, awaiting their turn to dock at the Port of L.A.
Commercial nuclear reactors produced one-fifth of the nation’s electricity in 2020, without requiring the direct combustion of fossil fuels. But it’s difficult finding the funds to develop and maintain the sites.
Katie Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Feeding America, regarding the increased strain on U.S. food banks due to increasing food prices and supply chain issues. The Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, Calif., is spending $1 million a month to distribute 4.5 million pounds of food; pre-pandemic it was spending a quarter of that for 2.5 million pounds of food. (Associated Press — November 10, 2021)
The number of governors that have sent a letter to U.S. lawmakers, urging them to pass the $52 billion CHIPS Act, which would include subsidies for semiconductor factories that produce microchips for cars. The bipartisan group claims the global auto chip shortage has affected 575,000 jobs in the industry.
Moderate and centrist Democrats who triumphed in the recent mayoral elections have been too quick to adopt Republican attack points, particularly when it comes to calls for reforming policing.
After a long wait, the federal infrastructure bill is headed toward President Joe Biden's desk. How can states and local areas take advantage of the $65 billion set aside for broadband? Here are some details.
A week after New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, Democrats in the state are maneuvering to shape the ideological tenor of Phil Murphy’s next administration by debating what the relatively close race means.
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For a while, concerns about credit card fees and legacy processing infrastructure might have slowed government’s embrace of digital payment options.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package will give billions to the state in new spending over the next five years. Large swaths of the money will be used to upgrade Alaska’s outdated infrastructure.
Phone calls in the New Orleans jail cost 21 cents per minute. Sheriff Gusman says the calls are a much-needed revenue source but opponents argue the price can be a burden on low-income families.
The North Carolina county has been unable to secure space to protect its homeless community during the winter months as COVID-19 has reduced the number of people that each location can house.
A statement by the Philadelphia Police Department, regarding the decision to ban low-level traffic stops, including things such as driving with a single broken brake light, driving with a single headlight, driving without an inspection or emissions sticker or having a registration plate that’s not clearly displayed, fastened or visible. The law will go into effect in early 2022. (NPR — November 8, 2021)
The year in which new vehicles will be required to have monitoring systems that prevent drunk people from driving, under the new infrastructure package that awaits President Biden’s signature. In total, approximately $17 billion is allotted to road safety programs.
COP26 convened amid projections that greenhouse emissions were on track to go up, not down, over the next decade, and severe climate impacts have arrived much sooner than imagined. Will the summit change this picture?
Cities spend millions to raze vacant buildings. Why not use that money to repair them instead?
The COVID recession and its fiscal aftermath should remind politicians, advocates and labor that budget reserves are not piggybanks for new discretionary spending. Economic cycles have not been repealed.
Michigan state Rep. and former Wayne County Sheriff’s lieutenant Tyrone Carter, commenting on the availability of information on social media platforms. The state police are using software programs that allow the agency to scan public social media posts for information, raising privacy concerns from civil liberties advocates. (The Detroit News — November 8, 2021)
In Missouri, determining whether service providers are vaccinated against COVID is not easy due to privacy rules and politics. For at-risk customers, this could put them in danger of contracting the virus.
Rather than work from existing maps, the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission started from scratch and grouped residents into clusters of related communities. But not everyone is happy with the proposed changes.
The county’s only active landfill will become inoperable sooner than previously estimated. Officials must create a solution that doesn’t harm neighboring communities or the environment, and figure out how to pay for it.
A newly launched Gender Equity Dashboard shows that the gender pay gap increased by 6 percent between 2016 and 2019 and experts are worried the pandemic has only worsened the divide.
The amount that the Spokane County, Wash., Sheriff’s Office spent on two days of billboard advertising in New York City’s Times Square to recruit deputies. Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich wanted to buy the ad space in cities in which elected officials had talked negatively about police officers.
As the nation continues to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic, leaders in suburban school districts are using a range of strategies to restore and strengthen connections with students and communities.
Richmond and other cities are looking to amend zoning codes for new housing and business developments, hoping that looser parking requirements will allow greater investment in housing, retail and greenspace.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association, a nonprofit that started in California during the 1800s, sees much potential in a new tool that can save substantial time and manpower in wildfire recovery missions.
Robert P. Jones says systemic racism is in the DNA of American Christianity and the communities it helped shape but holds out hope for redemption. The opportunity lies in telling a truer story about the founding of the church.
Minneapolis residents voted 56 percent to 44 percent against an amendment that would have transformed the city’s police. The reasons they did so are complicated, an expert writes.
California requires law enforcement to report the controversial warrants to a state database—but The Markup found massive discrepancies in how they’re reported.
In light of last winter’s week-long freeze, which took out many city services, Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management released 132 recommendations on how the city should prepare for future disasters.
The St. Louis County administration building in Clayton, Mo., requires a $50 million investment to meet current fire codes. It might be cheaper just to demolish the building and move to a new location.
